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DAVID  THOMPSON'S 
NARRATIVE 


Originally  Published  as 
Champlain  Society  Publication  XII 


A  Facsimile  Edition  by 

GREENWOOD  PRESS,  PUBLISHERS 
NEW  YORK  1968 


First  Greenwood  reprinting,   1968 
LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS  catalogue  card  number:    68-28603 


This  work  has  been  printed  on  long-life  paper  and  conforms  to  the 
standards  developed  under  the  sponsorship  of  the  Council  on  Li- 
brary Resources. 


Originally  published  as 
Champlaign  Society  Publication  XII 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


DAVID   THOMPSON'S 
NARRATIVE 

OF  HIS  EXPLORATIONS  IN 
WESTERN  AMERICA 

1784-1812 


EDITED   BY 

J.    B.    TYRRELL 


TORONTO 
THE  CHAMPLAIN  SOCIETY 

1916 


Copyright  of  J.  B.    Tyrrell,  19 15 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PREFACE XV 

INTRODUCTION xxiii 

DAVID    THOMPSON'S    ITINERARY    IN    NORTH-WESTERN 

AMERICA,    1785-1812 Ixv 

PART   I 

CHAP. 

I.  JOIN    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 3 

II.  LIFE   AT   A   TRADING    POST   ON    HUDSON'S   BAY       .  30 

III.  MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY 55 

IV.  NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS 78 

V.  DEER 95 

VI.  LIFE  AMONG  THE   NAHATHAWAYS         .        .        .        .104 

VII.  CHEPAWYANS 128 

VIII.  TRIP   TO    LAKE  ATHABASCA 133 

IX.  WINTER   AT   REIN    DEER   LAKE 154 

X.  NORTH   WEST   COMPANY 168 

XI.  GREAT   PLAINS 183 

XII.  SWAN    RIVER   COUNTRY 193 

XIII.  JOURNEY  TO    MANDANE   VILLAGES         ....  209 

XIV.  MANDANES   AND   THEIR   CUSTOMS 225 

XV.  RETURN     JOURNEY     TO     M^DONELL'S     HOUSE     ON 

MOUSE   RIVER 38 

vii 


7  tj-^Z^ 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAP,  PAGE 

XVI.  JOURNEY    DOWN    THE    STONE    INDIAN    AND  lUP 

THE   RED   RIVER             .        .        .        «        «        «        •  243 

XVII.  LIFE  AT   CADOTTE'S   HOUSE 255 

XVIII.  DISCOVER  THE  SCOURGE   OF  THE   MISSISSIPPE .  266 

XIX.  SCOURGE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPE  TO  LAKE  SUPERIOR  273 

XX.  GREAT  WESTERN   FOREST  LANDS       ....  300 


XXL  SMALL  POX  AMONG   THE   INDIANS 

XXII.  PLAIN    INDIANS 

XXI IL  PEEAGANS 

XXIV.  PEEAGANS   CONTINUED     . 


.  318 

.  326 

•  345 

.  358 


PART    II 

I.  CROSS  THE  ROCKY   MOUNTAINS 375 

II.  JOURNEY    FROM    KOOTANAE    HOUSE    TO    RAINY 

LAKE    HOUSE   AND    RETURN 385 

III.  WINTER   AT   KOOTANAE   HOUSE 399 

IV.  ESTABLISH  TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  SALEESH 

INDIANS 407 

V.  JOURNEY  FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  RAINY  LAKE 

HOUSE 426 

VI.  RETURN  JOURNEY  TO  COLUMBIA  BY  DEFILES  OF 

ATHABASCA   RIVER 438 

VIL  JOURNEY   FROM    CANOE    RIVER   TO   ILTHKOYAPE 

FALLS 451 

VIII.  ILTHKOYAPE    INDIANS 467 

IX.  JOURNEY    TO    THE    PACIFIC    FROM    ILTHKOYAPE 

FALLS ,        .    472 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAP.  PAGE 

X.  JOURNEY  TO  THE   PACIFIC   CONTINUED  .        .        .489 

XI.  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    COURSE    OF     COLUMBIA 

RIVER 503 

XII.  FROM   ASTORIA  TO  SPOKANE   HOUSE        .        .        .510 

XIII.  JOURNEYS  AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE      .        .        .531 

XIV.  FROM    SALEESH    HOUSE   TO   MONTREAL    .        .        .546 

LIST  OF   WORKS   CITED 561 

INDEX 567 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

THOMPSON'S  HOUSE  AT  WILLIAMSTOWN,  GLEN- 
GARRY CO.,  ONTARIO Tofacep.Wv 

Now  owned  by  Farquhar  Robertson,  Esq. 

THE  DALLES  OF  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER  IN 
FLOOD,  AS  WHEN  THOMPSON  PASSED  IN  1811. 
NEW  CANAL  IN  THE  FOREGROUND    ...  „       xcvi 

YORK  FACTORY  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  HAYES  RIVER, 

MANITOBA .38 

Photograph  :  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  1912. 

RUINS  OF  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  HOUSE  ON  THE 
BANKS  OF  THE  SASKATCHEWAN  RIVER,  AL- 
BERTA          „  88 

Photograph:  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  1886. 

RAPIDS  ON  WINNIPEG  RIVER,  MANITOBA       .        .  „         180 

Photograph:  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  1891. 

AUTUMN  EVENING  ON  THE  EASTERN  SHORE  OF 

LAKE  WINNIPEG,  MANITOBA ,,182 

Photograph  :  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  1890. 

REMAINS  OF  CUTHBERT  GRANT'S  HOUSE  IN  THE 

ASSINIBOINE  VALLEY,  MANITOBA        ...  „         194 

Photograph  :  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  1890. 

RUINS  OF  KOOTANAE  HOUSE,  NEAR  LAKE  WIN- 
DERMERE, B.C ,,376 

Photograph  :  H.  Riess,  191 2. 

KOOTENAY  FALLS,  MONTANA ,,388 

Photograph  :  T.  C.  Elliott. 


xii  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

COLUMBIA  RIVER,  BELOW  LAKE  WINDER- 
MERE, B.C To  face  p.  408 

Photograph  :  G.  M.  Dawson,  1883. 

BOX  CANON,  PEND  D'OREILLE  RIVER,  WASHING- 
TON.    Thompson  descended  the  river  to  this  point   .         .  „        428 

Photograph :  Frank  Palmer. 

GRAND  RAPIDS,  SASKATCHEWAN  RIVER,  MANI- 
TOBA    ,,436 

Photograph  :  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  1890. 

ILTHKOYAPE     OR     KETTLE     FALLS,     COLUMBIA 

RIVER,  WASHINGTON ,,466 

Photograph  :  Frederick  Wheeler. 

THOMPSON  OR  RICKEY  RAPIDS,  COLUMBIA 
RIVER,  WASHINGTON,  FIVE  MILES  BELOW 
KETTLE  FALLS ,,472 

Photograph  :  Frank  Palmer. 

COLUMBIA  RIVER,  ABOVE  THE  MOUTH  OF  SPO- 
KANE RIVER,  WASHINGTON ,,474 

Photograph  :  Frank  Palmer. 

COLUMBIA  RIVER,  ABOVE  THE  MOUTH  OF  OKAN- 

AGAN  RIVER.     Thompson's  camp,  July  5,  181 1      .        .  „        480 

SITE  OF  SPOKANE  HOUSE,  EIGHT  MILES  NORTH- 
WEST OF  THE  CITY  OF  SPOKANE,  WASHINGTON  „         532 

Photograph  :  T.  C.  Elliott,  191 3. 

THOMPSON'S     PRAIRIE,     MONTANA,    ON     WHICH 

SALEESH    HOUSE   WAS   SITUATED        ...  „         542 

Photograph  :  T.  C  Elliott. 


LIST    OF    MAPS    AND    PLANS 

PART   OF   THE   MAP    OF   THE   WORLD   IN   COOK'S 

THIRD  VOYAGE To  face  p.  \x 

THOMPSON'S   SKETCHES  :— 

Rocky  Mountains  east  of  the  Head  of  the  Columbia 

river,  B.C At  end  of  vol. 

Nelson  Mountains  west  of  the  Head  of  the  Columbia 

river,  B.C „ 

Mountains  South  of  Saleesh  or  Flathead  lake,  Mon- 
tana           „ 

THOMPSON'S  MAP  OF  NORTH-WESTERN  AMERICA 

In  pocket  at  end  of  vol. 


PREFACE 


THE  account  here  published  of  the  explorations  of 
David  Thompson  in  the  western  parts  of  Canada 
and  the  United  States  was  written  by  Thompson 
himself  when  he  was  about  seventy  years  old  and  still  in  the 
full  possession  of  all  his  faculties,  but  after  the  active  part  of 
his  life-work  was  completed  and  when  he  had  retired  to 
Montreal  in  the  hope  of  enjoying  his  remaining  years  in 
quietude.  While  he  was  writing  this  history  of  the  portion 
of  his  life  in  which  he  undoubtedly  took  the  most  interest, 
he  kept  his  note-books  before  him,  and  with  their  assistance 
he  retraced  the  scenes  through  which  he  had  passed  in  the 
days  of  his  youth  and  strength.  He  tells  his  story  with  an 
accuracy  that  has  rarely  been  equalled  in  the  case  of  an  old 
man  who  is  recounting  the  experiences  of  his  younger  days. 
I  have  carefully  compared  his  narrative  with  his  note-books, 
written  by  him  from  day  to  day  as  he  travelled  through  the 
country,  and  in  comparatively  few  instances  were  discrep- 
ancies found  ;  where  these  occur  they  are  indicated  in  the 
notes  at  the  bottom  of  the  pages. 

Part  n  of  the  Narrative  covers  in  detail  the  years  1807 
to  181 2,  which  were  spent  as  a  partner  in  the  North- West 
Company  in  the  provinces  of  Alberta  and  British  Columbia, 
and  the  states  of  Montana,  Idaho,  and  Washington,  while 
Part  I  is  a  more  general  account  of  his  life  while  in  the 
employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  North-West  Companies 
between  the  years  1784  and  1807,  in  the  country  from  Lake 
Superior  and  Hudson  Bay  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
It  must  be  clearly  understood,  however,  that  this  narrative 

XV  If 


xvi      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

tells  but  a  small  part  of  the  work  accomplished  by  Thompson 
during  those  twenty-eight  years,  being  confined  to  a  general 
account  of  his  travels  and  of  the  people  and  things  encountered 
by  him.  But  Thompson,  besides  being  an  excellent  traveller, 
was  an  exceedingly  accurate  and  methodical  surveyor,  and  his 
original  note-books  are  largely  occupied  with  mathematical 
records  of  his  surveys  and  of  the  astronomical  observations 
by  which  he  filled  out  and  checked  those  surveys.  At  the 
same  time  they  include  extensive  meteorological  data  and 
partial  vocabularies  of  many  of  the  Indian  tribes  among 
whom  he  dwelt. 

The  main  features  of  his  geographical  work  are  recorded 
on  the  large  map  reproduced  with  this  volume,  but  the  minor 
topographic  details,  with  which  his  note-books  are  overflowing, 
can  only  be  appreciated  by  reference  to  the  note-books  them- 
selves. In  the  Itinerary,  which  I  have  included  as  a  second 
part  of  the  Introduction  in  this  volume,  a  bald  statement  of 
the  journeys  and  surveys  accomplished  by  Thompson  has 
been  given  in  detail  year  by  year,  without  any  attempt  at 
recording  the  incidents  of  his  journeys.  A  thorough  under- 
standing of  this  Itinerary  will  make  his  own  account  more 
interesting  and  intelligible. 

The  reader  will  quickly  see  that  Thompson  was  a  man  of 
great  natural  ability  and  strong  moral  character.  His  school 
education  had  ceased  when  he  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age, 
but  he  had  been  taught  to  spell  and  write,  for  his  early  hand- 
writing is  beautifully  distinct  and  regular,  and  his  spelling  is 
remarkably  good  for  the  time  and  circumstances  in  which  he 
lived.  In  character  he  was  bold  and  fearless  of  consequences, 
and  therefore  he  early  assumed  the  leadership  among  his 
associates.  This  was  shown  when  the  traders  and  clerks  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  York 
Factory,  were  smarting  under  the  obloquy  heaped  on  them 
by  Joseph  Colen,  their  Chief,  and  were  afraid  to  protest 
against  such  treatment  until  Thompson  arrived  from  the 


PREFACE  xvii 

interior  to  lead  them,  although  he  was  probably  the  youngest 
among  them. 

He  was  constantly  occupied,  either  mentally  or  physically. 
Inactivity  was  utteriy  repugnant  to  him,  but  his  activity  was 
always  directed  to  some  definite  and  useful  purpose.  He 
worked  hard  to  perform  his  duty  as  he  saw  it,  and  when  it 
was  accomplished  he  gave  the  product  of  his  work  freely  to 
others,  for  there  was  no  trace  of  self-seeking  or  vainglory  in 
his  nature. 

The  second  part  of  Thompson's  great  life-work  was 
performed  when,  as  Astronomer  to  the  International  Boundary 
Commission  under  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  he  surveyed  the 
boundary  line  between  British  North  America  (Canada)  and 
the  United  States  from  St.  Regis,  Quebec,  where  the  45th 
parallel  of  latitude  strikes  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  to  the 
north-west  angle  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  This  task  was 
accomplished  between  181 6  and  1826,  and  is  not  dealt  with  in 
this  volume. 

The  Narrative  is  here  printed  just  as  it  was  written  by 
Thompson  himself,  except  that  for  the  convenience  of  the 
reader  the  liberty  has  been  taken  of  altering  the  punctua- 
tion slightly  and  of  introducing  some  capital  letters.  In  the 
manuscript  as  received  by  me,  several  of  the  chapters  of 
Part  I  had  been  written  twice  in  somewhat  different  form, 
and  in  each  case  the  one  that  appeared  to  have  most  merit 
has  been  printed.  However,  only  one  set  of  Contents  was 
prepared  by  Thompson  for  these  chapters,  and  in  the  case 
of  Chapter  XX  it  has  been  necessary  to  use  the  contents 
of  the  chapter  that  has  not  been  printed  for  the  one  that 
has  been  printed. 

This  narrative  remained  in  Thompson's  hands  until  his 
death  in  1857,  after  which  it  passed  to  one  of  his  sons,  who 
sold  it  to  the  late  Mr.  Charles  Lindsey  of  Toronto.  Mr. 
Lindsey  intended  to  edit  it,  and  made  a  partial  use  of  it  in 
preparing  an  account  of  the  "  Extent  of  Country  which  the 


xviii     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

North-West  Company  occupied  "  in  his  Investigation  of  the 
Unsettled  Boundaries  of  Ontario  (pp.  225-45),  but  he  found 
himself  constantly  hampered  by  a  want  of  personal  knowledge 
of  the  country  described,  and  finally  he  decided  not  to  proceed 
with  the  pubhcation  of  the  book. 

My  interest  in  Thompson's  work  began  in  1883  and  the 
following  years,  when,  as  a  Geologist  on  the  staff  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  I  was  travelling  in  or  near  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  was  making  maps  on  which  to  record 
my  geological  investigations.  In  conducting  these  surveys 
the  number  of  places  with  names  of  unknown  origin,  and  the 
accuracy  of  the  main  features  of  the  maps  then  in  use,  greatly 
impressed  me.  In  searching  for  the  sources  of  this  geo- 
graphical information  the  late  Mr.  Andrew  Russell,  Assistant 
Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands  for  the  province  of  Ontario, 
advised  me  of  the  existence  of  Thompson's  map  and  note- 
books in  the  possession  of  the  Crown  Lands  Department  of  the 
province  of  Ontario.  After  making  such  examination  of  these 
note-books  as  was  then  possible,  at  which  time,  however, 
I  was  unable  to  find  Volume  XI,  which  contains  many  of  the 
notes  of  his  surveys  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
especially  of  his  journeys  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
river,  I  published  a  Brief  Narrative  of  the  Journeys  of  David 
Thompson  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Canadian  Institute, 
Toronto,  3rd  section,  vol.  vi,  1887-88,  pp.  135-60. 

After  the  publication  of  this  paper,  Mr.  Charles  Lindsey 
wrote  to  me  and  told  me  of  the  existence  of  the  Narrative  here 
pubHshed,  and  very  kindly  offered  to  allow  me  to  inspect  it. 
Some  years  later  I  purchased  it  from  him.  Shortly  after 
purchasing  it,  I  removed  to  Dawson  in  the  Yukon  Territory, 
and  it  was  not  until  my  return  to  Toronto  in  1906  that 
it  was  possible  for  me  to  undertake  seriously  the  study  of 
this  journal  which  had  been  lying  untouched  for  nearly 
ten  years. 

Between  the  years  1883  and  1898,  while  engaged  on  the 


PREFACE  xix 

staff  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  it  fell  to  my  lot  to 
carry  on  explorations  in  canoes,  on  horseback,  or  on  foot,  over 
many  of  the  routes  which  had  been  surveyed  and  explored 
by  David  Thompson  a  century  before,  to  survey  the  rivers 
that  he  had  surveyed,  to  measure  the  portages  on  which  he 
had  walked,  to  cross  the  plains  and  mountains  on  the  trails 
which  he  had  travelled,  to  camp  on  his  old  camping  grounds, 
and  to  take  astronomical  observations  on  the  same  places 
where  he  had  taken  them.  Everywhere  his  work  was  found 
to  be  of  the  very  highest  order,  considering  the  means  and 
facilities  at  his  disposal,  and  as  my  knowledge  of  his  achieve- 
ments widened,  my  admiration  for  this  fur-trading  geographer 
increased,  and  in  order  to  show  my  appreciation  of  the 
splendid  work  which  he  did  I  decided  to  offer  this  narrative 
to  the  public.  My  original  intention  was  to  abbreviate,  and 
partly  rewrite  it,  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  reduce  it  to 
somewhat  more  popular  form,  and  with  that  object  in  view 
my  wife  assisted  me  until  it  was  almost  ready  for  the  printer. 
Just  at  this  time,  however,  the  Council  of  the  Champlain 
Society  learned  of  its  existence,  and  offered  to  publish  it  in 
its  original  form,  and  also  to  take  the  burden  of  reading  and 
revising  proofs,  preparing  index,  etc.,  off  my  hands.  This 
offer  was  accepted,  and  the  present  volume,  with  its  wealth  of 
new  information  about  Western  America,  is  issued  with  the 
hope  that  it  may  assist  in  confirming  David  Thompson  in 
his  rightful  place  as  one  of  the  greatest  geographers  of  the 
world. 

There  is  no  portrait  of  Thompson  in  existence,  but  Mrs. 
Shaw,  his  daughter,  once  handed  me  an  old  print  of  John 
Bunyan,  saying  that  the  picture  was  as  good  a  likeness  of  her 
father  as  if  it  had  actually  been  taken  of  him. 

There  is  not  even  a  monument  marking  the  last  resting- 
place  of  this  great  geographer.  It  is  not  creditable  to 
Canadians,  proud  as  we  are  of  our  country  and  its  limitless 
natural  possibilities,   that   this   pioneer   who   did   so   much 


XX       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

without  remuneration  to  render  the  country  known  to  us 
and  others  should  remain  neglected.  The  least  that  we 
could  do  as  a  token  of  our  respect  for  the  man  and  his  work 
would  be  to  erect  a  statue  to  him  in  some  prominent  place 
in  the  capital  of  the  Dominion. 

In  the  notes  and  Introduction,  in  spelling  the  names  of 
Indian  tribes,  I  have  followed  the  Handbook  of  the  Indians  of 
Canada^  issued  by  the  Commission  of  Conservation  of  the 
Government  of  Canada,  and  in  regard  to  geographic  names 
of  natural  features  I  have  followed  the  decision  of  the  Geo- 
graphic Board  of  Canada,  but  in  speaking  of  places  occupied 
by  Thompson,  and  not  since  known  by  any  other  name,  I 
have  used  the  spelling  which  he  adopted.  This  will  account 
for  such  apparent  discrepancies  as  Kootanae  House,  the 
Kutenai  Indians,  and  Kootenay  river. 

I  wish  to  express  my  deep  indebtedness  to  Sir  Edmund 
Walker,  who  has  given  his  careful  attention  to  every  detail 
in  connection  with  the  preparation  of  the  book  for  the  press, 
and  to  Mr.  W.  S.  Wallace,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  pubUca- 
tions  of  the  Champlain  Society,  who  has  faithfully  carried 
out  its  engagements  to  me  in  correcting  proofs,  preparing 
the  index,  and  assisting  in  the  revision  of  the  manuscript  of 
the  Introduction  and  notes. 

While  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  the  notes  the 
government  of  the  province  of  Ontario,  and  Dr.  Alexander 
Fraser,  the  Provincial  Archivist,  kindly  loaned  me  Thompson's 
original  note-books,  so  that  I  have  been  able  to  examine  them 
carefully  in  such  spare  time  as  has  been  at  my  disposal. 

In  compiling  the  notes  on  the  country  west  of  the  moun- 
tains I  have  been  especially  fortunate  in  securing  the  assist- 
ance of  Mr.  T.  C.  ElHott,  of  Walla  WaUa,  Washington,  U.S.A., 
who  is  intimately  acquainted  with  the  early  history  of  the 
north-western  states  and  especially  of  the  Columbia  valley. 
He  was  kind  enough  to  visit  me  in  Toronto,  where  we  had 
the  pleasure  of  reading  over  Thompson's  original  note-books 


PREFACE  xxi 

together.     His  notes  throughout  are  signed  with,  his  initials, 
T.  C.  E. 

Mr.  E.  A.  Preble,  of  the  Biological  Survey  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C.,  U.S.A.,  has  very  kindly  added 
notes  on  the  animals  and  plants  mentioned  by  Thompson, 
thus  greatly  adding  to  the  scientific  value  of  the  book.  His 
notes  are  signed  with  his  initials,  E.  A.  P. 

I  am  also  indebted  to  Mr.  James  White,  Deputy  Head  of 
the  Commission  of  Conservation  for  Canada,  of  Ottawa,  for 
assistance,  advice  and  notes,  and  also  for  permission  to  pub- 
lish Thompson's  large  map  from  a  tracing  which  he  had  had 
made,  for  it  was  found  quite  impossible  to  reproduce  the  old 
faded  yellow  original  by  any  mechanical  process. 

I  also  desire  to  thank  Miss  Shaw,  Thompson's  grand- 
daughter. Miss  Elsie  Day,  Messrs.  G.  R.  Ray,  A.  C.  McNab, 
J.  Meyers,  and  others  for  kind  assistance  in  supplying  infor- 
mation about  Thompson  or  the  country  through  which  he 

travelled. 

J.  B.  TYRRELL. 

Toronto, 
April  19,  19 1 5. 


INTRODUCTION 


DAVID  THOMPSON,  the  author  of  this  hitherto 
unpublished  manuscript,  was  born  in  the  parish  of 
St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Westminster,  England, 
on  April  30,  1770,  and  was  baptized  on  May  20  of  the  same 
year.  The  parish  register  gives  the  names  of  his  parents  as 
"  David  Thompson  and  Ann  his  wife,"  though  it  gives  no 
information  as  to  their  antecedents  or  the  time  or  place  of 
their  marriage.  On  subsequent  pages  of  the  register,  however, 
it  is  recorded  that  another  son,  named  John,  was  born  to  David 
Thompson  and  Ann  his  wife  on  January  25,  1772,  and  was 
baptized  on  February  16  of  the  same  year.  The  next  and 
last  record  that  has  been  discovered  about  the  family  is  of 
the  death  of  David  Thompson,  doubtless  the  father,  on 
February  28,  1772.  Opposite  his  name  no  burial  fee  is 
entered,  a  fact  which  shows  that  he  was  buried  at  the  expense 
of  the  parish.  Mrs.  Shaw,  one  of  Thompson's  daughters, 
informed  the  writer  that  her  father's  brother  John,  who  was 
a  sea  captain,  had  once  visited  her  father  in  Montreal.  She 
also  said  that  her  grandparents  came  from  Wales,  and  that 
their  family  name  was  originally  Ap-Thomas,  but  that  it  had 
been  changed  to  Thompson  on  going  to  London.  In  this 
connection,  it  is  interesting  to  notice  that  late  in  life  the 
speech  of  David  Thompson  the  younger  was  remarked  by  an 
observer  to  betray  his  Welsh  origin.^ 

On  April  29,  1777,  when  just  seven  years  of  age,  David 
Thompson  entered  the  Grey  Coat  School,  Westminster.    This 

^  J.  J.  Bigsby,  The  Shoe  and  Canoe,  London,  1850,  vol.  i.  p.  113. 

xxiii 


xxiv      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

interesting  old  school  ^  is  now,  and  has  been  since  its  re- 
organisation by  the  Endowed  Schools  Commission  in  1873,  a 
charity  school  for  girls.  It  may  still  be  seen  by  the  visitor, 
some  five  minutes'  walk  from  Westminster  Abbey  :  an  old 
red  house,  built  in  the  Elizabethan  manner,  covered  at  the 
back  with  grape-vine  and  Virginia  creeper,  and  surrounded 
by  a  large  garden  and  playground.  But  in  1777  it  was  a 
school  devoted  to  the  education  of  poor  boys  :  its  "  principall 
designe  "  was  "  to  educate  poor  children  in  the  principles  of 
piety  and  virtue,  and  thereby  lay  a  foundation  for  a  sober 
and  Christian  life."  The  early  training  which  David 
Thompson  received  within  the  walls  of  this  school  coloured 
his  whole  career,  and  marked  him  off  in  later  life  from  the 
dissolute  traders  and  voyageurs  a,mong  whom  his  lot  was  cast. 

Some  years  ago  the  opportunity  of  visiting  this  school 
presented  itself,  and  Miss  Day,  the  head  mistress,  kindly 
allowed  me  the  privilege  of  inspecting  the  old  minute-book 
of  the  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Governors  of  the  school,  in 
which  are  to  be  found  the  following  entries  relating  to  David 
Thompson.  Under  the  date  of  Tuesday,  April  29,  1777,  his 
admission  to  the  school  is  recorded  : 

"Abram  Acworth,  Esq.  was  this  day  pleased  to  present  David 
Thompson  to  be  admitted  into  this  Hospi  on  y^  Foundation  and  y« 
Governors  present  being  satisfy  with  y^  said  child's  settlement.  Ord^ 
that  he  be  admitted  on  bringing  in  the  usual  necessaries." 

Over  six  years  later,  at  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Board  held 
on  Tuesday,  December  30,  1783,  the  name  of  David  Thompson 
reappears  in  the  minutes  : 

"The  Master  also  reports  that  application  was  made  by  the  Secre- 
tary belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to  know,  if  this  Charity 
could  furnish  them  with  4  boys  against  the  month  of  May  next,  for 
their  settlements  in  America.     The  Master,  by  order  of  the  Treas"^ 

'  For  an  account  of  the  school,  see  a  paper  entitled  An  Old  Westminster 
Endowment,  by  Miss  Elsie  Day,  in  the  Journal  of  Education,  September, 
1885. 


INTRODUCTION 


XXV 


wrote  a  letter  informing  the  Governor  and  Directors  that  there  were 
but  two  boys  that  had  been  taught  navigation  in  the  school,  which 
two  boys  they  desire  may  be  qualified  for  them,  viz  :  Samuel  John 
M^Pherson  and  David  Thompson." 

Samuel  John  McPherson  was  evidently  averse  to  being  sent 
away  to  America,  for  he  "  elop^  from  this  Hospital  on  the 
7""  Jan'' "  following,  and  as  he  did  not  return  he  was  ex- 
pelled ;  but  David  Thompson  accepted  the  fate  for  which 
the  Governors  of  the  school  had  destined  him.  In  the 
minutes  of  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Governors 
of  the  school,  held  on  Tuesday,  June  29,  1784,  his  apprentice- 
ship to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  recorded  : 


"  David  Thompson 
bound  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  for  seven 
years  &  paid. 


On  the  20th  May  David 
Thompson,  a  mathematical  Boy 
belonging  to  the  Hosp^  was  bound 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  & 
the  Trea""  then  paid  M^  Thos. 
Hutchins,  Corresponding  Secretary 
to  the  said  Company,  the  sum  of 
five  pounds  for  taking  the  said  Boy 
appren^e  for  seven  years." 

David  Thompson  was  thus  a  pupil  in  the  Grey  Coat 
School  for  seven  years  (1777-84).  During  this  time  his 
mathematical  master  was  one  Thomas  Adams,  of  whom 
nothing  further  is  known,  and  the  sort  of  teaching  which  the 
poor  child  received  may  be  judged  from  the  following  list  of 
books,  many  of  them  then  nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  from 
which  he  was  taught  : 

WalUs,  Mechanics  .... 

Wallis,  A  Treatise  of  Algebra 
Thesaurus  Geographicus 
Leybourn,  Dialling      .... 
Leybourn,  Mathematical  Institutions 
Gordon,  Geography  Anatomized     . 
Atkinson,  Epitome  of  the  Art  of  Navigation 
Newton,  An  Idea  of  Geography 
Barlow,  A  Survey  of  the  Tide 


.   published 

1655 

7> 

1685 

» 

1695 

» 

1682 

)? 

1704 

>» 

I716 

rt 

I7II 

■)■> 

1708 

)> 

I717 

xxvi      DAVID   THOMPSON*S   NARRATIVE 

From  such  books  as  these,  David  Thompson  received  the 
preparation  for  his  hfe-work  in  surveying  the  northern  forests 
and  plains  of  America. 

David  Thompson  sailed  from  London  in  May,  1784,  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  ship  Prince  Rupert,  and  arrived 
at  Churchill  in  the  beginning  of  September.  Here  he  took 
up  his  quarters  in  the  new  trading  establishment  that  had 
just  been  built  on  the  site  which  is  still  occupied  by  the 
trading  store  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ;  for  Fort  Prince 
of  Wales,  the  great  stone  fort  five  miles  away  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  had  been  taken  and  burned  by  the  French  two 
years  before.  He  spent  the  winter  of  1784-85  under  Samuel 
Hearne,  the  traveller  who,  fifteen  years  before,  had  started 
from  Churchill  on  foot  with  a  few  Indians  to  discover  and 
explore  a  "  mine  "  of  copper  near  the  Coppermine  river, 
and  incidentally  to  set  at  rest  the  question  of  the  existence  or 
non-existence  of  a  practicable  passage  for  ships  around  the 
north  coast  of  America  from  Europe  to  Asia.  Although  he 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  imbued  with  any  admiration 
for  Hearne's  character — for  Thompson  was  a  very  devout  man, 
and  Hearne  an  unbeliever — the  intimate  knowledge  gained  of 
Hearne's  journeyings  must  have  been  more  or  less  of  an 
inspiration  to  him  throughout  his  after  life. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  annual  ship  at  Churchill  in  1785, 
Thompson  was  sent  to  York  Factory,  the  journey  being 
accomplished  on  foot,  along  with  two  Indians,  on  the  low 
shore  of  Hudson  Bay.  This  was  his  first  experience  of  travel 
in  the  North- West,  and  evidently  the  memory  of  it  remained 
clear  and  distinct  in  his  mind.  A  growing  boy,  fifteen  years 
old,  set  down  on  the  inhospitable  shore  of  Hudson  Bay  in 
the  autumn  of  the  year,  without  provisions,  and  with  instruc- 
tions to  walk  to  another  fur-trading  station  a  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  away,  was  not  likely  to  forget  the  journey. 

York  Factory,  like  Fort  Prince  of  Wales,  had  been  taken 
and  burned  by  the  French  in  1782,  and  as,  unlike  Fort  Prince 


INTRODUCTION  xxvii 

of  Wales,  it  was  built  entirely  of  wood,  the  burning  had  com- 
pletely destroyed  it.  When  the  fort  was  destroyed,  Humphrey 
Marten,  the  officer  in  charge  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
had  been  carried  away  prisoner  by  the  French,  but  in  the 
following  year,  that  is  in  1783,  he  had  returned  and  rebuilt 
a  trading  house  on  the  site  of  the  one  that  had  been  burned, 
half  a  mile  below  the  position  on  which  York  Factory  stands 
to-day.  By  this  time  Marten  had  been  in  charge  of  York 
Factory,  or  some  other  trading  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  for  twenty -four  years,  and  had  become  so  rough 
and  overbearing  that  life  under  him  must  have  been  anything 
out  agreeable.  Edward  Umfreville,  who  spent  seven  years 
as  a  clerk  under  him  before  the  destruction  01  /ork  Factory, 
says  that  he  used  to  beat  the  Indians  most  cruelly,  and  thus 
drive  them  away  burning  with  revenge.  He  was  respected 
neither  by  the  Indians,  nor  "  by  those  who  were  so  unfortu- 
nate as  to  serve  under  him.  His  disposition  was  vindictive 
and  unsociable  to  the  last  degree.  English,  as  well  as  Indians, 
felt  the  weight  of  his  oppressive  temper,  which  diffused  its 
corroding  effect  to  every  object.  Domestic  happiness  was  a 
stranger  to  his  table,  and  his  messmates  lived  a  most  unhappy 
life,  under  the  rod  of  this  unrelenting  taskmaster."  ^ 

Thompson  arrived  at  York  about  September  13,  and  the 
two  Indians  were  rewarded  for  the  care  that  they  had  taken 
of  him  on  the  journey  by  a  present  of  three  gallons  of  brandy 
and  four  pounds  of  tobacco.  He  now  settled  down  at  York 
for  a  year,  his  principal  companions,  besides  Marten,  being 
Joseph  Colen,  John  Ballenden,  Alfred  Robinson,  and  John 
Jennings.  The  accounts  for  the  year  are  in  his  neat  hand- 
writing. Besides  doing  clerical  work,  he  assisted  in  the  trading 
store,  and  at  the  same  time  was  an  indefatigable  hunter,  and 
thus  materially  assisted  in  supplying  his  companions  with 
geese,  ducks,  and  such  other  game  as  abounded  in  the  vicinity. 

^  Edward  Umfreville,  The  Present  State  of  Hudsoiis  Bay,  London,  1790, 
pp.  91-2. 


xxviii     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

As  shown  in  the  Servants'  Accounts,  his  purchases  from  the 
Company  for  the  year  amounted  to  £6, 12s.  gd.,  but  in  contrast 
with  most  of  the  other  accounts,  none  of  this  was  for  brandy. 

The  year  1786  was  a  time  of  commotion  among  the  em- 
ployees of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  shore  of  the 
Bay.  Humphrey  Marten  had  been  recalled  to  England,  and 
Joseph  Colen  was  appointed  as  Resident  Chief  at  York  in  his 
place.  William  Tomison,  a  Scotchman  from  Ronaldshay,  had 
been  *'  Chief  Inland  "  for  some  years,  and  had  resigned,  but 
on  Colen's  accession  to  command  at  York  had  withdrawn  his 
resignation  and  had  decided  to  go  back  to  the  Saskatchewan, 
with  Robert  Longmore^  as  principal  lieutenant.  Malcolm 
Ross,  who  was  afterwards  closely  associated  with  Thompson, 
was  being  sent  up  the  Churchill  river  from  Churchill  to 
endeavour  to  open  up  a  direct  route  from  that  post  to  Cumber- 
land House  on  the  Saskatchewan  river.  At  the  same  time 
more  trading  posts  were  being  established  on  the  Saskatchewan 
river  by  the  brigades  from  York  itself,  in  order  to  compete 
with  the  Canadian  traders.  The  establishment  of  these  posts 
had  been  delayed  first  by  the  epidemic  of  smallpox  in  1781, 
and  then  by  the  destruction  of  Forts  York  and  Churchill 
(or  Prince  of  Wales)  in  1782. 

On  July  21,  1786,  after  having  remained  a  year  at  York, 
Thompson  was  fitted  out  with  a  trunk,  a  handkerchief,  shoes, 
shirts,  a  gun,  powder,  and  a  tin  pot  or  cup,  and  the  next  day 
he,  with  forty-six  other  "  Englishmen  "  in  charge  of  Robert 
Longmore,  started  inland  up  the  Hayes  river  to  establish 
more  trading  posts  on  the  Saskatchewan  river,  above  Hudson's 

*  Robert  Longmore  was  a  trader  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  for  many  years.  He  was  in  charge  of  the  brigade  of  canoes  with 
which  Thompson  first  went  inland  in  1786,  and  afterwards  in  1799  was  Master 
at  Swan  River,  with  a  salary  of  /70  a  year.  Samuel  Hearne  wrote  of  him  in 
1786,  "He  possesses  a  very  essential  qualification,  which  is,  that  of  being 
universally  beloved  by  the  natives.  To  add  to  this,  his  long  residence  in  those 
parts  [the  Saskatchewan  country],  together  with  an  invariable  attention  to  the 
Con>pany's  interests,  must  long  since  have  made  him  a  competent  judge  of 
their  affairs  in  that  quarter." 


INTRODUCTION  xxix 

House,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  most  remote  post  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  occupied  at  that  time.  Tomison 
remained  behind  at  York  Factory  till  August  30,  when,  with 
two  young  men,  Hugh  Folster  and  Magnus  Tate,  and  one 
Indian,  he  followed  the  brigade  with  its  loaded  canoes  to  the 
Saskatchewan.  The  party  ascended  the  North  Saskatchewan 
river  to  a  point  on  its  northern  bank,  forty-two  miles  above 
Battleford  and  twelve  miles  north  of  the  present  station  of 
Birling  on  the  Canadian  Northern  Railway,  where  they  cleared 
the  ground  and  built  a  trading  post  composed  of  one  or  more 
log  houses,  probably  surrounded  by  a  wooden  stockade.  When 
completed,  they  dignified  this  collection  of  huts  with  the  name 
of  Manchester  House. 

Edward  Umfreville,  who  had  once  been  employed  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  as  a  clerk  or  writer  at  York  Factory, 
but  who  was  now  in  the  employ  of  the  North- West  Company, 
had  been  occupying  a  similar  trading  store  for  the  past  three 
years  at  a  point  forty  miles  farther  up  the  river,  but  as  far  as 
we  know  there  were  no  white  men  beyond  him,  and  it  was 
not  until  three  years  later  that  Peter  Pangman,  one  of  the 
partners  of  the  North-West  Company,  ascended  the  Saskat- 
chewan as  far  as  Rocky  Mountain  House,  so  that  young 
Thompson  had  now  reached  almost  to  the  very  limit  of  the 
country  with  which  civilised  men  were  familiar  on  the 
Saskatchewan  at  that  time.  Far  to  the  north  and  north- 
west there  were  a  couple  of  trading  posts  on  the  Churchill 
and  Athabaska  rivers  in  charge  of  such  men  as  Alexander 
Mackenzie  and  Peter  Pond,  but  to  the  south  and  west  was  a 
great  unknown  wilderness  inhabited  only  by  the  native 
Indians. 

It  was  a  time  of  strenuous  opposition  in  the  fur  trade 
between  the  English  traders  from  Hudson  Bay  and  the  Scotch 
traders  with  French  employees  from  Montreal,  and  some  of 
these  latter  evidently  came  and  settled  near  Manchester 
House,  for  Thompson  makes  incidental  mention  in  his  journal 


XXX      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  these  traders  who  were  opposed  to  his  employers.  The 
Company  was  working  hard  to  secure  furs  wherever  they 
might  be  found,  and  the  Blackfeet  and  Piegan  Indians  who 
roamed  over  the  plains  to  the  south  brought  quite  a  few 
wolf  skins  to  the  traders,  and  with  care  it  was  hoped  they 
might  be  taught  to  catch  beaver  and  some  of  the  other  more 
valuable  fur-bearing  animals.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to 
send  some  one  out  among  these  Indians  to  gain  their  friend- 
ship and  to  secure  their  trade,  and  Thompson  and  six  others 
were  chosen  for  the  enterprise.  The  party  travelled  south- 
westward  to  the  Bow  river,  probably  to  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  present  city  of  Calgary,  where  there  was  a 
large  camp  of  Piegan.  Here,  after  sending  some  of  his  men 
back  to  Manchester  House,  he  settled  down  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  winter  in  the  tent  of  an  old  Chief  named  Sauka- 
mappee,  and  the  friendship  of  this  chief,  though  it  did  not 
always  prevent  trouble,  stood  him  in  good  stead  many  times 
in  his  after  life.  Some  of  the  stories  and  traditions  of  the 
Indians  which  he  obtained  at  the  time  form  an  interesting 
part  of  the  present  book. 

This  was  Thompson's  first  introduction  to  the  great 
plains,  and  as  he  went  to  them  so  young,  being  then  only 
seventeen  years  old,  he  evidently  got  a  thorough,  sympathetic 
conception  of  the  natural  untainted  life  and  habits  of  the 
western  Indians  who  wandered  over  them. 

Some  time  during  the  following  winter  or  spring  he 
returned  to  the  trading  post  on  the  Saskatchewan  river, 
and  later  he  descended  the  river  for  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  to  an  older  trading  post  called  Hudson's 
House,  which  had  been  built  by  Tomison  some  years  before. 
This  post  was  situated  a  short  distance  above  the  present  city 
of  Prince  Albert,  three  or  four  miles  below  a  place  now  known 
as  '  Yellow  Banks,'  on  the  edge  of  a  forest  of  spruce  and  pine. 
The  Blackfoot  tribes  of  the  plains  would  hardly  be  likely  to 
come  to  a  place  so  far  east  and  so  completely  surrounded  by 


INTRODUCTION  xxxi 

forest  as  this  was,  so  that  the  Indians  whom  he  would  meet 
here  would  probably  be  Cree  and  Assiniboin. 

The  only  thing  we  know  about  him  during  the  following 
summer  is  that  in  some  way  he  had  the  misfortune  to  break 
his  right  leg  ;  and  through  improper  setting,  or  for  some 
other  reason,  this  accident  caused  him  considerable  discom- 
fort for  some  years. 

Towards  the  end  of  summer,  he  again  continued  down  the 
river,  on  this  occasion  as  far  as  Cumberland  House  on  Pine 
Island  lake,  a  post  that  had  been  built  by  Samuel  Hearne, 
his  former  master  at  Fort  Churchill,  fifteen  years  before,  with 
the  object  of  intercepting  the  Indians  who  were  coming 
down  with  their  furs  from  the  Athabaska  and  Churchill 
river  regions,  and  of  preventing  them,  if  possible,  from  dis- 
posing of  these  furs  to  the  Frobishers  and  the  other  traders 
who  came  west  from  Montreal. 

He  was  at  this  time  nineteen  years  old.  It  is  evident  that 
he  had  always  been  interested  in  surveying  and  in  observing 
and  recording  natural  phenomena,  so  when  he  had  settled 
down  for  the  winter  he  began  to  keep  a  careful  meteorological 
journal  in  which  were  noted  the  readings  of  the  thermometer 
three  or  four  times  a  day,  the  direction  and  force  of  the  wind, 
and  general  remarks  on  the  climate.  During  this  same  winter 
he  took  also  a  series  of  astronomical  observations,  six  being 
meridian  altitudes  of  the  sun  for  latitude,  and  thirty-five 
lunar  distances  for  longitude.  The  results  of  the  observations 
place  Cumberland  House  in  north  latitude  53°  56'  44",  and 
west  longitude  102°  13',  a  position  almost  identical  with  that 
which  it  occupies  to-day  on  the  latest  official  maps.  When 
one  considers  the  nautical  almanacs  that  were  available  at  that 
time,  this  result  is  quite  astonishing  and  puts  to  shame  much 
even  of  the  good  observing  of  the  present  day.  At  that  time 
there  were  very  few  other  points  on  this  whole  continent  of 
America  whose  positions  on  the  earth's  surface  were  as 
accurately  known  as  this  remote  trading  post  on  the  Saskat- 


xxxu      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

chewan  river.  On  the  maps  of  Canada  its  position  has  been 
changed  many  times,  but  the  latest  surveys  have  brought  it 
back  to  the  place  to  which  it  was  assigned  by  this  young 
astronomer  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  his  long  career  of  geodetic 
surveying  which  was  to  make  him  the  greatest  practical  land 
geographer  that  the  world  has  produced.  Very  few  men 
have  had  the  opportunity  of  exploring  the  half  of  a  great  new 
continent,  and  no  one  else  has  ever  seized  the  opportunity 
as  David  Thompson  did.  For  many  thousands  of  miles,  in 
pursuit  of  my  work  when  engaged  as  a  geologist  on  the  staff 
of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada  between  the  years  1883 
and  1898,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  travel  over  the  same 
routes  that  he  had  travelled  a  century  before,  and  to  take 
observations  on  the  sun  and  stars  on  the  very  spots  where  he 
had  observed  ;  and  while  my  instruments  may  have  been 
better  than  his,  his  surveys  and  observations  were  invariably 
found  to  have  an  accuracy  that  left  little  or  nothing  to  be 
desired.^ 

In  the  following  spring,  after  having  determined  by 
astronomical  observations  the  position  of  his  winter  home,  he 
started  with  the  fur  brigade  for  York  Factory  and  made  a 
survey  of  the  Saskatchewan  and  Hayes  rivers  to  that  place, 
a  distance  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

Later  on  in  the  summer,  he  again  returned  to  Cumber- 
land House,  and  spent  the  winter  with  Philip  Turnor,  a 
surveyor  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  With 
this  man  as  a  tutor,  and  doubtless  with  the  thought  of  some 
of  the  difficulties  in  the  work  of  the  previous  winter  in  his 
mind,  he  devoted  himself  heart  and  soul  to  the  study  of 
practical  astronomy  and  surveying. 

In  the  following  spring  he  again  descended  to  York,  while 

^  In  a  letter  dated  1817,  Thompson  states  that  a  large  ten-inch  brass  sextant 
of  Dolland's,  reading  to  the  1 5",  had  been  his  constant  companion  for  twenty- 
eight  years.     He  evidently  obtained  it  about  this  time. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxiii 

his  friend  and  teacher,  Philip  Turner,  started  north-westward 
by  Frog  Portage  to  Lake  Athabaska. 

After  having  thus  spent  four  years  in  the  Saskatchewan 
country,  he  left  it  for  a  while,  and  remained  for  a  year  at 
York  Factory,  where  his  time  was  largely  occupied  in  taking 
a  long  series  of  astronomical  observations  for  latitude  and 
longitude,  the  results  of  which  correctly  placed  the  position 
of  the  factory  half  a  degree  west  of  the  location  previously 
determined  by  Tumor. 

During  the  spring  of  1788,  the  mouth  of  the  Hayes  river, 
on  the  west  bank  of  which  York  Factory  was  situated,  became 
blocked  with  broken  ice,  which  caused  the  water  to  rise  behind 
it  and  flood  the  adjoining  land.  The  water  rose  several  feet 
in  the  dwelling-house  and  did  a  large  amount  of  damage  to 
the  buildings  and  stores.  In  order  to  prevent  a  recurrence 
of  such  a  calamity,  Colen  moved  the  fort  upstream  about  half 
a  mile  to  its  present  position,  on  a  spot  of  higher  and  drier 
ground.  The  process  of  moving  occupied  several  years,  and 
was  not  completed  until  1793,  so  that  doubtless  Thompson, 
among  other  duties,  assisted  in  building  the  Factory  in  its 
present  position. 

South-west  of  York  Factory,  and  at  no  great  distance  from 
it,  is  the  country  called  by  Thompson  the  Muskrat  country. 
It  is  situated  on  some  of  the  western  tributaries  of  Nelson 
river  that  flow  into  that  stream  at  Split  lake,  and  in  a  general 
way  lies  between  the  Churchill  river  to  the  north  and  the 
Saskatchewan  river  to  the  south.  Curiously  enough  this 
region,  though  so  near  York  Factory  and  so  rich  in  fur-bearing 
animals,  had  been  occupied  exclusively  by  the  traders  of  the 
North- West  Company  from  Montreal.  Even  as  early  as  1780 
Samuel  Hearne  wrote  from  Churchill  with  regard  to  these 
traders  and  others  acting  under  instructions  from  Peter  Pond 
on  Athabaska  river,  "  The  Canadians  have  found  means  to 
intercept  some  of  my  best  Northern  Leaders.  However,  I 
still  live  in  hopes  of  getting  a  few  [furs]  from  that  quarter." 


xxxiv      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

In  1792  Colen  and  his  associates  on  the  Council  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  York  decided  to  make  an  effort  to 
wrest  the  trade  of  this  country  from  the  Canadians,  and 
accordingly  they  sent  William  Cook,  Malcolm  Ross,  and  David 
Thompson  to  establish  trading  posts  in  the  district.  With 
his  appointment  to  a  fur-trading  post  in  the  Muskrat  country, 
Thompson  was  thus  placed  in  the  front  of  the  firing  line  in  a 
struggle  in  which  his  adversaries  were  not  only  the  Canadian 
traders  of  the  North- West  Company,  who  were  the  natural 
antagonists  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but  also  the  traders 
of  his  own  Company  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Churchill  and 
not  of  York  Factory ;  for  Churchill  and  York,  though  both 
trading  posts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  sent  their  re- 
ports in  to  the  head  office  at  London  independently,  and  the 
rivalry  between  them  was  such  that  it  became  occasionally 
necessary  for  the  Board  of  Directors  to  intervene. 

In  order  to  understand  the  conditions  by  which  Thompson 
was  surrounded,  it  will  be  necessary  to  review  briefly  the  con- 
dition of  the  fur  trade  at  York  and  Churchill  at  that  time. 
The  traders  from  Montreal,  who  afterwards  united  into  the 
North-West  Company,  travelling  in  canoes  through  Lakes 
Superior  and  Winnipeg,  reached  the  upper  portion  of  the 
Churchill  river  in  1776,  and  built  a  house  on  the  Athabaska 
river,  a  short  distance  above  Lake  Athabaska,  in  1778,  from 
which  place  they  extended  their  trading  posts  westward 
up  Peace  river  and  northward  down  the  Mackenzie  river. 
Churchill  and  York,  the  trading  posts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  on  Hudson  Bay,  immediately  felt  the  effect  of  this 
invasion  of  the  "  Canadians,"  for  the  Indians  had  always 
brought  their  furs  to  the  posts  on  the  Bay  to  trade  for  such 
articles  as  they  wanted,  and  now  they  were  able  to  dispose  of 
them  inland.  Consequently,  in  1774,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's men  went  inland  and  built  Cumberland  House  on  the 
Saskatchewan  river,  and  two  years  later  they  went  farther  up 
the  same  river  and  built  Hudson's  House,  from  which  place  an 


INTRODUCTION  xxxv 

outpost  appears  to  have  been  established  still  farther  up  the 
Saskatchewan  at  the  Elbow.  Here  both  the  employees  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  Canadians  appear  to  have 
lived  in  the  winter  of  1779-80  ;  and  here,  in  the  spring  of 
1780,  Cole,  one  of  the  Canadian  traders,  was  killed  in  a  quarrel 
with  the  Indians,  and  all  the  other  traders,  no  matter  what 
Company  they  were  serving,  were  obliged  to  flee  down  the 
river  for  safety.  Immediately  afterwards  smallpox  ravaged 
the  country,  swept  away  great  numbers  of  the  Indians,  and 
disheartened  the  survivors.  After  the  smallpox  epidemic  had 
abated,  York  and  Churchill  Factories  were  destroyed  by  the 
French,  and  all  the  furs  contained  in  them  were  confiscated. 
These  disasters  paralyzed  the  energies  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  for  a  time,  and  it  was  not  until  1786  that  the  party 
under  William  Tomison,  of  which  Thompson  was  a  member, 
ascended  the  Saskatchewan  river  past  Cumberland  House  and 
built  Manchester  House  425  miles  above  it. 

About  the  same  time  it  had  occurred  to  some  one  that  it 
should  be  possible  to  reach  the  Saskatchewan  river  more 
easily  from  Churchill  than  from  York  by  a  direct  route  up 
the  Churchill  river,  and  accordingly  in  the  same  year  in  which 
Thompson  left  for  the  Saskatchewan,  Malcolm  Ross,  who  had 
already  been  at  Cumberland,  was  sent  from  York  on  July  27, 
1786,  to  Churchill,  with  instructions  to  go  up  the  Churchill 
river  to  Cumberland  House. 

In  regard  to  this  expedition,  Samuel  Hearne,  then  in 
charge  of  Churchill,  wrote  to  Joseph  Colen  at  York  as  follows, 
under  date  of  August  6,  1786  : 

"  Malcolm  Ross's  experience  in  the  interior  parts  of  the  country 
will,  I  hope,  render  him  perfect  master  of  the  business  he  is  going 
about.  Since  Malcolm's  arrival  here  five  canoes  of  Nelson  Indians 
came  to  the  Factory,  two  of  which  have  been  prevailed  upon  to  carry 
him  and  his  companions  to  Cumberland  House,  where  they  will  be 
ready  to  prosecute  the  remainder  of  the  Company's  orders  in  the 
spring." 


xxxvi     DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

As  will  be  seen  later,  Hearne  himself  had  no  confidence  in 
the  successful  issue  of  this  expedition  from  a  commercial  point 
of  view. 

The  following  summer  Malcolm  Ross  had  evidently 
returned  to  York,  for  in  a  letter  to  Samuel  Hearne,  dated 
York  Factory,  July  19,  1787,  Joseph  Colen  wrote  : 

*' Malcolm  Ross  tells  me  he  had  many  difficulties  to  encounter 
before  he  reached  Cumberland  House  from  Churchill,  the  water  so 
shoal  as  to  prevent  the  navigation  of  small  canoes." 

In  answer  Hearne  wrote  : 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  the  difficulties  Malcolm  Ross  had  to  en- 
counter with,  tho'  from  my  own  knowledge  no  less  could  be  expected  ; 
this  river  a  little  distance  from  here  is  inaccessible  for  anything  much 
larger  than  a  light  canoe." 

In  the  following  year,  1788,  Colen  sent  Robert  Longmore 
from  York  to  Churchill  to  prosecute  the  discoveries  from 
Churchill  inland.  His  party  did  not  succeed  in  opening  a 
trade  route  to  the  Saskatchewan  river,  but  it  did  succeed 
in  establishing,  or  arranging  for  the  establishment  of,  trading 
posts  at  several  places  up  the  Churchill  river. 

In  1789  the  Board  of  Diiectors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  in  London  sent  Philip  Turnor  from  London  to 
Lake  Athabaska  in  order  to  find  out  its  exact  location,  and 
after  his  return  they  kept  instructing  Colen  and  his  associates 
on  the  Council  at  York  to  send  Ross  and  Thompson  to  that 
country,  but  Colen  seems  to  have  taken  a  very  perfunctory 
interest  in  the  enterprise,  and  to  have  been  much  more 
interested  in  competing  with  the  Company's  men  from 
Churchill  for  the  trade  of  the  country  near  the  headwaters 
of  the  Burntwood  and  Grass  rivers  in  what  Thompson  calls 
the  Muskrat  country. 

In  1792  Ross  and  Thompson,  instead  of  being  sent  to  Lake 
Athabaska,  were,  as  stated  above,  despatched  up  the  Nelson 
river  to  winter  at  Sipiwesk  lake.     In  the  following  spring 


INTRODUCTION  xxxvii 

Thompson  alone,  without  any  assistance  from  York,  endea- 
voured to  explore  a  new  route  to  the  Athabaska  country  by 
Reindeer  lake,  but  being  unable  to  obtain  Indian  canoemen 
was  obliged  to  turn  back  and  return  to  York. 

Later  in  the  year  1793,  he  left  York  and,  accompanied  by 
Malcolm  Ross,  went  up  to  Cumberland  House  on  the  Saskat- 
chewan river,  and  after  remaining  there  three  days  continued 
on  to  Buckingham  House,  where  he  spent  the  winter  of  1793- 
94.  With  regard  to  this  journey  the  directors  in  London 
wrote  that  they  would  expect  much  good  to  follow  the  expe- 
dition of  Ross  and  Thompson  to  the  Athabaska  country,  and 
also  that  the  arrangements  made  by  which  William  Cook  was 
to  return  in  winter  from  Split  lake,  where  he  was  in  charge, 
and  accompany  Ross  and  Thompson  to  the  Athabaska  country, 
met  with  their  "  full  approbation."  At  the  same  time  they 
wrote,  expressing  the  hope  that  George  Charles,  who  had  gone 
up  the  Churchill  river  from  Fort  Churchill,  would  "  restore 
a  considerable  part  of  the  long  lost  trade  to  Churchill." 

But  William  Cook  remained  at  Split  lake  all  winter,  and 
while  it  is  possible  that  Colen  intended  that  Thompson 
should  proceed  from  Cumberland  House  to  Lake  Athabaska 
instead  of  going  to  Buckingham  House,  there  is  no  notice  of 
any  such  intention  in  Thompson's  journals,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  Colen  was  guilty  of  duplicity, 
and  that  while  he  had  no  interest  in  the  exploration  of  the 
more  remote  interior  parts  of  the  country,  he  endeavoured  to 
put  the  blame  for  his  want  of  enterprise  on  other  shoulders. 
This  opinion  is  strengthened  by  a  statement  in  a  letter  from 
the  Board  of  Directors  in  London  to  the  Council  at  York, 
dated  May  30,  1795,  with  reference  to  Peter  Fidler,  who  was 
Thompson's  fellow  surveyor  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
though  at  a  much  lower  salary.     It  is  as  follows  : 

"  We  observe  that  Mr.  P.  Fidler  has  been  kept  at  the  Factory  for 
two  seasons  past,  but  for  the  future  we  direct  him  to  proceed  inland  on 
discoveries." 


xxxviii     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

When  Thompson  arrived  at  York  Factory  from  the  Saskat- 
chewan river  in  the  summer  of  1794,  Colen  and  his  associates 
at  York  wrote  to  England  as  follows : 

"  Notwithstanding  the  steps  pursued  last  fall  to  ensure  the  success 
of  the  Athapascow  Expedition,  we  are  sorry  to  remark  it  was  again  set 
aside  at  Cumberland  House  this  Spring.  As  these  transactions  happened 
many  hundred  miles  distance  from  us,  and  with  much  secrecy,  we 
cannot  from  our  own  knowledge  inform  your  honours  the  real  cause, 
and  it  is  from  letter  and  hearsay  we  form  our  judgment.  It,  however, 
appears  surprising,  for  when  Mr.  Colen  accompanied  the  men  and  boats 
up  Hill  River,  with  trading  goods,  many  volunteers  offered  their  service 
for  the  Athapascow  Expedition,  and  said  they  were  ready  to  have  gone 
from  Cumberland  House  with  Messrs.  Ross  and  Thompson,  but  Mr. 
Tomison  refusing  to  pass  his  word  for  the  advance  of  wages  promised 
by  the  Honourable  Committee  it  of  course  stopt  the  Expedition  in 
question  and  the  considerable  loss  of  your  honours.  Indeed  we  find 
this  business  involved  in  mystery,  and  as  are  many  other  transactions 
inland.  .  .  .  We  have  already  remarked  on  the  overthrow  of  the 
Athapascow  Expedition  this  season.  The  repeated  disappointments  so 
much  disheartened  Mr.  Ross  determined  him  to  return  to  England  had 
not  Mr.  Thompson  prevailed  on  him  to  pursue  some  other  track  into 
the  Athapascow  country,  for  they  declare  it  will  be  impossible  to  carry 
it  on  from  Cumberland  as  the  Honourable  Company's  affairs  at  present 
stand,  as  every  obstacle  is  thrown  in  the  way  to  prevent  its  success.  In 
order  to  suppress  similar  obstructions  Mr.  Ross  took  men  and  one 
canoe  cargo  of  goods  with  him  from  Cumberland  House  and  built  a 
house  to  the  northward  near  to  a  station  occupied  by  a  Mr.  Thompson, 
a  Canadian  Proprietor  whose  success  of  late  years  in  collecting  of  furs 
has  been  great.  Mr.  David  Thompson  has  been  fitted  out  with  men 
and  three  canoe  cargoes  from  this  place  to  supply  Mr.  Ross  by  pro- 
ceeding up  Nelson  River  track." 

It  would  thus  appear  that  Ross  had  become  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted with  the  obstructions  put  in  the  way  of  an  expedition 
into  the  Athabaska  country  either  at  York  or  by  those  in  charge 
on  the  Saskatchewan  river,  and  had  decided  to  go  to  England, 
doubtless  in  order  to  be  able  to  appeal  directly  to  the  Board 
of  Directors,  but  that  Thompson  had  urged  him  to  consent 


INTRODUCTION  xxxix 

to  remain  in  the  country  until  they  had  definitely  found  out 
whether  the  route  by  Reindeer  lake  was  feasible  as  a  trade 
route  or  not.  But  Ross's  heart  was  not  in  this  work  of  dis- 
covery, and  he  would  furnish  no  assistance  for  the  exploration 
of  a  new  route  when  he  believed  that  the  old  one  followed 
by  the  North- Westers  was  good  enough. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  some  of  the  statements  made 
in  the  letter  cited  above.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  it  was 
Colen's  avowed  intention  that  Ross  and  Thompson  should 
proceed  from  Cumberland  House  to  the  Athabaska  country 
by  the  route  which  had  been  travelled  by  the  traders  of  the 
North-West  Company  for  a  number  of  years,  and  by  Philip 
Turnor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1791,  but  that  he 
claimed  that  this  had  been  frustrated  by  Tomison,  the  Chief 
at  Cumberland  in  charge  of  the  inland  trade,  or  by  the  insub- 
ordination of  the  canoemen,  and  that  Thompson  was  sent  up 
the  Saskatchewan  river  instead. 

In  their  answer  to  this  letter,  written  in  May,  1795,  the 
directors  in  London  show  their  sympathy  for  David  Thompson 
by  saying,  "  We  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  conduct  of 
Messrs.  David  Thompson,  Ross,  and  others,"  and  by  requesting 
that  Thompson  should  be  advised  of  their  approbation.  They 
wrote  also,  "  Obstacles  are  again,  we  perceive,  thrown  in  the 
way  of  the  Athapascow  Expedition,  but  we  trust  all  diffi- 
culties which  occur  and  impede  the  Company's  success  will 
soon  be  removed." 

That  Colen  believed  that  he  had  shelved  the  Athabaska 
question  for  a  time  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  sent  Ross, 
Thompson,  Cook,  Tate,  and  Sinclair  back  into  the  Muskrat 
country  to  oppose  two  Canadian  traders  named  Robert 
Thompson  and  McKay  who  had  been  cutting  into  the  York 
Factory  trade  for  some  years  past.  That  winter  Robert 
Thompson,  who  had  been  for  many  years  on  the  Churchill 
and  Nelson  rivers,  was  killed  in  a  quarrel  with  some  Indians. 

David  Thompson  spent  the  winter  of  1794-95  at  Reed  lake. 


xl        DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  in  July,  1795,  paid  his  last  visit  to  York  Factory.  He  had 
been  making  surveys  wherever  he  went,  so  that  the  amount 
of  geographical  information  that  he  had  collected  was  very 
large,  but  there  had  been  no  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Company  to  help  him  push  westward  to  the  Athabaska 
country.  Nevertheless  Colen  and  his  Council  at  York  wrote 
to  London  as  follows  :  "  The  steps  pursued  last  season  in 
the  exploring  a  new  track  towards  the  Athabasca  country 
we  hope  will  meet  your  Honour's  approbation."  In  return 
the  directors  demanded  to  see  the  maps  of  the  country  which 
had  been  explored. 

But  the  end  of  this  truculent  quibbling  was  at  hand. 
Ross  and  Thompson  left  York  for  the  Nelson  river  on  July  18, 
1795,  and  the  Council  wrote  to  London  with  reference  to 
Athabaska  exploration  that  "  Messrs.  Ross  and  Thompson 
were  despatched  from  the  factory  with  men  in  four  large 
canoes  loaded  with  trading  goods  last  July,  and  we  hope  to 
give  a  good  account  of  their  success  next  season  "  ;  but  they 
added  a  sentence  which  shows  they  were  thinking  only  of  the 
trade  in  the  Muskrat  country  itself,  "  Should  the  track  up 
Seal  River  be  found  nearer  and  a  better  road,  the  whole  of 
that  track  will  be  surrendered  up  to  Churchill." 

Ross  and  Thompson  went  directly  to  Fairford  House  and 
Duck  Portage  respectively,  where  they  built  trading  stores 
and  spent  the  following  winter,  being  obliged  to  compete  on 
the  one  hand  with  traders  from  Canada  and  on  the  other  with 
traders  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  from 
Churchill. 

The  following  summer,  1796,  Ross  went  down  to  York 
alone,  while  Thompson  made  a  final  and  in  this  case  successful 
attempt  to  push  north-westward  through  Deer  and  Wollaston 
lakes  to  Lake  Athabaska. 

But  how  different  was  the  outfit  and  assistance  supplied 
him  from  what  he  had  a  right  to  expect,  considering  the 
anxiety  shown  by  the  directors  of  the  Company  in  the  success 


INTRODUCTION  xli 

of  his  expedition.  Instead  of  a  proper  supply  of  men,  canoes, 
and  trading  goods,  he  was  obliged  to  engage  two  previously 
untried  Indians  who  knew  nothing  of  such  work ;  no  canoe 
was  to  be  had,  so  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  into  the 
woods,  collect  birch  bark,  and  make  one  ;  all  he  had  was  a 
fish  net  and  a  small  quantity  of  ammunition,  except  the 
compass  and  sextant,  which  were  his  own  private  property. 
So  provided,  he  started  out  on  a  long  exploring  expedition 
into  a  new  country.  The  account  of  this  expedition  is  given 
in  his  own  words  on  pages  133-53,  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  need  not 
repeat  it  here. 

On  his  return  from  Lake  Athabaska  he  built  a  trading 
post  on  the  west  side  of  Reindeer  lake,  where  he  was  later 
joined  by  Malcolm  Ross,  his  old  companion,  who  brought 
with  him  fresh  supplies,  but  at  the  same  time  he  brought  also 
an  order  from  Joseph  Colen,  the  Resident  Chief  at  York, 
instructing  him  to  stop  surveying.  Such  an  order,  which  he 
must  have  felt  to  be  contrary  to  the  earnest  wishes  of  the 
directors  of  the  Company,  after  the  great  personal  exertions 
and  sacrifices  which  he  had  made  to  carry  out  those  wishes, 
cut  him  to  the  heart.  Nevertheless  the  two  men  settled 
down  quietly  to  the  routine  of  trade,  and  spent  together 
what  proved  to  be  one  of  the  coldest  winters  ever  known  in 
western  Canada. 

As  his  term  of  service  had  expired,  Thompson  now  decided 
to  leave  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  On  Tues- 
day, May  23, 1797,  he  therefore  left  the  little  cabin  on  Reindeer 
lake  which  had  been  his  home  during  the  winter,  and  with  it 
the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  "  This  day,"  runs 
the  entry  in  his  journal,  "  left  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  entered  that  of  the  Company  of  the  Merchants 
from  Canada.     May  God  Almighty  prosper  me." 

Thompson  had  been  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for 
thirteen  years.  During  these  years  he  had  travelled  in  all 
about  nine  thousand  miles,  and  of  this  distance  he  had  made 


xHi      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

careful  surveys,  checked  by  numerous  astronomical  observa- 
tions, of  three  thousand  five  hundred  miles.  He  had  also 
correctly  determined  by  multiple  observations  for  latitude 
and  longitude,  the  positions  of  eight  widely  separated  places 
in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  and  of  one  (York  Factory) 
on  Hudson  Bay,  so  that  his  surveys  extended  between  known 
positions.  In  addition  to  his  surveying  work  he  had  taken 
and  recorded  regular  observations  on  the  climate  and  general 
natural  phenomena. 

The  following  letter,  written  after  he  reached  the  trading 
post  of  the  North- West  Company,  shows  how  keenly  he  felt 
the  opposition  which  Colen  had  shown  to  his  surveying  work. 

"Deers  River,  Jum  i,  1797. 
"Mr.  Colen. 

"Sir: — I  take  this  opportunity  of  returning  you  my  most  re- 
spectful thanks  for  your  loan  of  two  guineas  to  my  mother.  I  have 
enclosed  a  bill  to  you  for  the  above  amount. 

"  My  friends  belonging  to  York  inform  me  that  you  are  very 
desirous  to  find  out  who  was  the  author  of  those  letters  that  were  wrote 
to  H.  B.  Co.  and  militated  against  you  1795.  I  will  give  you  that 
satisfaction.  When  I  came  down  that  year  the  other  gentlemen  were 
waiting  my  arrival  in  order  to  assist  them  in  drawing  up  their 
grievances ;  as  you  were  then  absent  I  accepted  the  office  with  some 
hesitation,  but  as  the  letters  were  to  be  delivered  to  you  on  your 
landing  at  York  for  your  inspection,  and  that  you  might  have  time  to 
answer  them,  I  considered  you  in  a  manner  as  present. — Those  letters 
were  drawn  up  by  me,  assisted  by  my  friend  Dr.  Thomas,  and  not 
one  half  of  the  evils  complained  of  were  enumerated. 

"  You  told  Mr.  Ross  that  when  in  England  you  were  endeavouring 
to  serve  those,  who  behind  your  back  were  trying  to  cut  your  throat. — 
Before  you  went  to  England  I  had  always  a  Letter  and  Books  from  the 
Co.,  since  that  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  and  I  have  been  put  the 
whole  winter  to  the  greatest  inconvenience  for  want  of  a  Nautical 
Almanac. 

"  Many  of  us  acknowledge  with  readiness  that  you  have  some  good 
qualities,  and  I  had  once  the  greatest  respect  for  you  ;  I  have  some  yet, 
but  ...  it  is  not  my  wish  to  say  those  things  which  I  know  you  do 


INTRODUCTION  xliii 

not  wish  to  hear.  How  is  it,  Sir,  that  everyone  who  has  once  wished 
you  well  should  turn  to  be  indifferent  to  you,  and  even  some  to  hate 
you,  altho'  they  are  constant  in  their  other  friendships, — there  must  be 
a  defect  somewhere. 

"  The  fact  is,  that  from  your  peculiar  manner  of  conduct,  you  are 
also  one  of  those  unfortunate  men  who  will  have  many  an  acquaintance, 
but  never  never  a  real  friend. — Your  humble  Servant, 

"  D.  Thompson." 

But  if  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  did  not  need  Thomp- 
son's services  as  a  surveyor,  the  North- West  Company,  w^hich 
was  controlled  by  men  with  much  larger  and  more  progressive 
ideas,  was  anxious  to  obtain  some  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
extent  and  character  of  the  country  in  which  it  was  carrying 
on  its  business.  When  he  left  the  little  trading  post  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the  west  shore  of  Reindeer  lake 
and  walked  down  to  the  nearest  post  of  the  North-Westers, 
about  seventy-five  miles  farther  south,  Thompson  felt  sure  of 
a  welcome  from  the  Canadians.  After  staying  at  Fraser's 
House  for  about  ten  days,  he  proceeded  to  Grand  Portage  on 
Lake  Superior.  On  the  way  he  met  some  of  the  members  of 
the  North- West  Company,  among  them  Roderick  Mackenzie, 
a  cousin  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  and  the  author  of  7he 
History  of  the  Fur  Trade  which  forms  the  Introduction  to 
Alexander  Mackenzie's  Voyages^  and  Simon  Fraser,  who  after- 
wards descended  the  Fraser  river.  These  men  were  hence- 
forward to  be  his  associates. 

For  the  last  three  years  during  which  Thompson  had  been 
in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  he  had  been 
receiving  £60  a  year,  which  was  probably  the  largest  salary 
paid  to  any  employee  of  his  age  at  the  time,  but  it  is  not 
known  on  what  terms  he  was  engaged  by  the  North-West 
Company.  His  first  work,  however,  was  to  consist  of  one 
continuous  surveying  trip  unhampered  by  any  necessity  for 
looking  after  trade  returns.  His  instructions  were  (i)  to 
determine  the  position  of  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  which 


xliv      DAVID   THOMPSONS   NARRATIVE 

by  the  Treaty  of  1792,  had  been  decided  on  as  the  boundary 
line  between  the  United  States  and  British  North  America ; 
(2)  to  visit  the  villages  of  the  Mandan  Indians  on  the  Mis- 
souri river ;  (3)  to  search  for  fossil  bones  of  large  animals ; 
(4)  to  determine  the  positions  of  the  trading  posts  of  the 
North-West  Company. 

Starting  from  Grand  Portage  on  Lake  Superior,  he  turned 
back  into  the  western  country  by  the  ordinary  trade  route 
down  the  Rainy  and  Winnipeg  rivers  and  through  Lakes 
Winnipeg  and  Winnipegosis  to  Swan  and  Assiniboine  rivers, 
and  down  this  latter  stream  to  the  mouth  of  the  Souris  river, 
which  he  reached  about  the  beginning  of  winter.  From 
there  he  struck  southward  across  the  plains  to  the  Mandan 
villages  on  the  Missouri,  back  again  to  the  Assiniboine,  down 
that  river,  up  the  Red  river  and  across  the  head  waters  of 
the  Mississippi  river  to  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Duluth,  and  then  around  the  south  shore  to  Lake  Superior 
to  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  back  by  the  north  shore  to  Grand 
Portage,  where  he  arrived  early  in  June,  having  been  about 
ten  months  accomplishing  his  journey.  Since  he  had  left 
Grand  Portage  in  the  previous  year,  he  had  covered  a  total 
of  four  thousand  miles  of  survey  through  previously  un- 
surveyed  territory,  a  record  that  has  rarely  been  equalled. 

The  partners  of  the  North-West  Company  seem  to  have 
been  very  well  satisfied  with  the  work  so  far  done  by  him,  but 
he  was  an  able  and  experienced  fur-trader  as  well  as  a  surveyor, 
and  the  North-West  Company  was  a  commercial  concern 
and  needed  furs,  therefore  they  apparently  decided  not  to 
continue  to  employ  Thompson  exclusively  at  survey  work, 
but  to  engage  him  at  his  old  business  of  trading  for  furs,  with 
the  privilege  of  making  surveys  at  the  same  time.  This 
arrangement  was  satisfactory  to  Thompson,  and  about  the 
middle  of  July  he  started  west  again,  this  time  for  Lake  La 
Biche  at  the  headwaters  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the 
Athabaska  river,  where  he  spent  the  following  winter. 


INTRODUCTION  xlv 

In  the  summer  of  1799  he  extended  his  surveys  to  the 
Athabaska  river  and  some  of  its  tributaries,  and  from  Methy 
Portage,  which  is  on  the  canoe  route  to  Lake  Athabaska,  he 
started  on  his  way  down  the  Churchill  river  to  Grand  Portage. 
At  Isle  k  la  Crosse  he  stopped  for  a  few  days,  and  on  June  10 
married  Charlotte  Small,  a  half-breed  girl  fourteen  years  of 
age.  A  memorandum  in  an  old  Bible  belonging  to  Mrs.  Shaw, 
one  of  his  daughters,  states  that  Charlotte  Small  was  born  at 
Isle  k  la  Crosse  on  September  i,  1785.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  she  was  a  daughter  of  Patrick  Small,  who  was  one  of  the 
earliest  traders  on  the  Churchill  river.^ 

After  the  wedding,  Thompson  went  eastward  to  Grand 
Portage,  probably  taking  his  bride  with  him.  To  this  place 
drawing-paper  had  been  sent  from  Montreal  for  his  maps, 
and  with  the  precious  paper  in  his  possession  he  accompanied 
John  McDonald  of  Garth,  back  to  Fort  George  on  the 
Saskatchewan,  which  was  situated  close  to  Buckingham  House 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  his  old  home  of  the  winter 
of  1793-4,  where  he  wintered  and  drew  his  maps.^ 

On  March  25  he  was  again  on  the  move,  for  he  then 
crossed  to  the  south  side  of  the  Saskatchewan,  and  started 
overland  for  Fort  Augustus,  travelling  along  the  north  side 

^  Patrick  Small  was  a  native  of  Glengarry,  and  a  nephew  of  Major-General 
Small  of  the  42nd  Highlanders.  In  1786-7  he  was  in  charge  of  the  post  at 
Isle  k  la  Crosse  for  the  North-West  Company.  In  1790  he  was  one  of  the 
partners  in  the  North-West  Company,  owning  two  shares,  or  a  one-tenth 
interest  in  it.  He  was  a  Roman  Catholic  in  religion,  and  had  married  a  Chip- 
pewa woman  in  the  west.  There  was  also  another  and  younger  man  named 
Patrick  Small  in  the  employ  of  the  North-West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies, 
probably  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Thompson ;  he  married  a  daughter  of  James  Hughes, 
by  whom  he  had  nine  children,  and  he  died  in  1846  at  Carlton.  His  wife  died 
in  Manitoba,  and  lies  buried  in  the  St.  Boniface  cemetery. 

*  In  the  list  of  partners  and  employees  of  the  North-West  Company  for 
this  year,  published  by  Masson  in  the  "  Reminiscences  of  Roderick  Mackenzie," 
David  Thompson's  name  appears  as  an  employee  assigned  to  "  Upper  Fort 
des  Prairie  and  Rocky  Mountains"  with  a  salary  of  1200  G.P.  Currency,  which 
was  the  same  salary  that  was  then  being  paid  to  Simon  Fraser,  Alexander 
McKay,  Hugh  McGillis,  and  James  Hughes.  G.P.  undoubtedly  stands  for 
Grand  Portage,  but  I  have  been  unable  to  learn  what  was  the  unit  of  value. 


xlvi      DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  the  "  Chain  of  Lakes  "  north  of  the  Vermilion  river,  near 
the  north  line  of  Township  54.  On  March  28  he  reached 
Fort  Augustus,  and  on  the  31st  he  left  it  for  Rocky  Mountain 
House,  which  had  been  built  the  previous  autumn.  He 
travelled  southward  to  the  east  of  Bear's  Hills,  across  two 
branches  of  Battle  river,  down  the  Wolf's  trail,  and  westward 
across  Wolf  Creek  (Blind  Man  river),  to  a  crossing  of  Clear- 
water river,  two  miles  above  its  mouth,  and  arrived  at  Rocky 
Mountain  House  on  April  7,  crossing  the  river  on  the  ice, 
which  was  still  strong. 

The  old  house  of  the  North-West  Company  was  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Saskatchewan  on  a  beautiful  wide  level  flat 
a  mile  and  a  quarter  above  the  mouth  of  the  Clearwater 
river.  After  the  union  of  the  companies  it  continued  to  be 
occupied  for  many  years.  It  was  strongly  fortified  on  account 
of  the  possible  hostility  of  the  Blackfeet  who  traded  there, 
and  the  ruins  of  these  old  fortifications  were  still  standing 
when  I  visited  the  place  in  1886. 

From  here  he  had  intended  to  cross  southward  to  the 
Red  Deer  river  and  descend  it  in  a  boat,  but  having  been 
lamed  in  some  way,  he  sent  four  men,  Chauvette,  La  Gassi, 
Clement,  and  Jacco  Cardinal,  on  this  journey.  As  he  records 
the  fact  that  they  started  from  Rocky  Mountain  House,  and 
that  a  boat  had  been  built  for  them  beforehand,  and  as  some 
of  them  at  all  events  are  afterwards  mentioned  in  his  journal, 
it  seems  probable  that  these  men  successfully  descended  the 
Red  Deer  and  South  Saskatchewan  rivers,  being  probably 
the  first  white  men  to  accompHsh  this  journey. 

The  next  two  years  were  spent  by  Thompson  at  Rocky 
Mountain  House  or  in  its  vicinity,  and  in  exploring  the 
country  to  the  west  of  it  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  from  the  Bow  river  northward  to  the  Saskat- 
chewan. Then  he  moved  to  the  Peace  river,  and  made  his 
headquarters  at  the  trading  post  at  the  Forks,  which  had  been 
built  by  Alexander  Mackenzie  in  1792,  when   preparing   to 


INTRODUCTION  xlvii 

make  his  journey  westward  to  the  Pacific.  While  there  he 
made  a  survey  up  the  river  to  the  last  post  occupied  by  the 
traders,  and  when  leaving  the  country  he  descended  and 
surveyed  the  river  to  its  mouth  in  Lake  Athabaska.  After 
leaving  Peace  river,  he  went  back  into  the  Muskrat  country, 
where  he  had  previously  spent  four  years  while  in  the  employ 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Through  the  inattention  and 
carelessness  of  some  of  the  partners  of  the  North- West  Com- 
pany, and  through  the  greater  efficiency  in  management 
shown  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  trade  of  this 
district  had  been  allowed  to  fall  largely  into  the  hands  of  the 
latter  Company. 

In  previous  years,  while  working  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
York  Factory,  Thompson  had  had  to  contend  against  the 
traders  from  Churchill,  as  well  as  against  the  Canadian  traders 
of  the  North-West  Company.  On  this  occasion  the  Hudson's 
Bay  traders  from  York  had  withdrawn,  and  had  left  the  field 
to  those  from  Churchill  who  were  now  under  the  control  of 
Thompson's  old  schoolmate,  George  Charles.  At  the  same 
time  there  was  also  a  third  interest  struggling  for  the  trade 
in  the  X  Y  Company  of  Montreal. 

Thompson  brought  with  him  three  canoes  loaded  with 
trading  supplies,  which  he  distributed  among  five  different 
trading  posts  from  Cranberry  lake  on  the  south  to  Indian 
lake  on  the  north.  He  himself  went  almost  directly  to 
Nelson  House  on  the  Churchill  river,  where  George  Charles, 
governor  of  the  Churchill  district,  now  had  his  headquarters, 
and  from  there  he  went  a  little  farther  down  the  river  to  a 
place  called  Musquawegan  (or  Bear's  Backbone),  where  he 
built  a  house  and  spent  the  winter.  That  summer  Charles 
had  made  a  prisoner  of  Louis  Dupleix  of  the  North-West 
Company  for  stealing  furs  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
and  had  sent  him  to  Churchill,  where  he  was  to  be  tried.  But 
neither  this  incident,  nor  the  hard  conditions  of  the  fur  trade, 
served  to  cause  any  serious  disagreement  between  old  friends. 


xlviii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

During  thewinter  they  extended  to  each  other  various  civilities, 
including  the  loan  of  books,  and  when  Thompson  was  leaving 
Churchill  river  in  the  spring  of  1805,  everything  that  he  did 
not  need  to  take  with  him  was  left  in  the  care  of  Charles  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  store  at  Nelson  House.  The 
two  men  had  done  their  utmost  to  outwit  each  other  in  trade 
for  the  benefit  of  their  respective  companies,  but  at  the  same 
time  they  had  remained  neighbours  and  friends. 

After  rounding  up  the  furs  from  Indian  lake,  Musqua- 
wegan,  and  Nelson  House,  which  he  calls  "  the  old  post,"  he 
started  for  Cumberland  with  all  hands,  picking  up  the  furs 
from  the  post  on  Cranberry  lake  as  he  passed  it.  At  Cumber- 
land House,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  Hamilton,  then  in 
charge,  he  baled  his  furs  and  sent  them  down  to  Kamini- 
stikwia  with  Morrin  and  Carter,  while  he  spent  the  summer 
visiting  his  posts  at  Reindeer  lake  and  river  and  at  Cran- 
berry lake. 

In  the  autumn,  with  a  new  and  larger  supply  of  goods,  he 
started  back  into  the  same  country.  On  the  way  he  dis- 
mantled the  post  on  Cranberry  lake,  and  passing  the  old 
post  in  Reed  lake,  where  he  and  Malcolm  Ross  had  spent  a 
winter  together,  he  decided  on  a  place  to  build  a  house  near 
where  an  old  house  had  stood  about  twenty  years  before,  for 
here  fish  were  said  to  be  most  plentiful,  and  it  was  on  fish 
that  he  was  obliged  to  rely  almost  entirely  for  food.  He  sent 
Connelly  on  to  Indian  lake,  Joseph  Plante  to  Old  Fort 
(Nelson  House),  and  Fran9ois  Morrin  to  Pukkatowagan 
(Setting)  lake,  while  he  himself,  surrounded  by  his  family, 
spent  the  winter  at  the  house  which  he  had  just  built  on  the 
shore  of  Reed  lake. 

The  following  spring,  when  all  the  men  came  in  from  his 
three  outposts,  the  returns  were  found  to  be  small,  and  it  was 
probably  with  considerable  relief  that  he  handed  over  the 
charge  of  the  district  to  a  partner  named  Wills  and  started 
eastward  for  Kaministikwia. 


INTRODUCTION  xlix 

On  November  5,  1804,  the  North- West  and  X  Y  Com- 
panies had  discontinued  their  expensive  struggle  for  the  furs 
caught  by  the  Indians  and  agreed  to  unite  their  forces,  and 
David  Thompson's  name  appears  among  the  list  of  the  partners 
as  having  signed  the  agreement  hy  attorney.  As  a  conse- 
quence of  the  strength  thus  gained  by  union,  the  North- West 
Company  decided  to  extend  its  trade  into  the  country  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  which  is  now  covered  by  the 
province  of  British  Columbia  and  the  states  of  Idaho,  Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  and  the  western  portion  of  Montana. 

In  1805  Simon  Fraser  was  sent  up  the  Peace  river  to 
establish  posts  at  its  head-waters  and  around  the  sources  of 
the  Fraser  river,  in  the  country  subsequently  known  as  New 
Caledonia,  and  in  the  following  year  Thompson  was  sent  up 
the  Saskatchewan  river  to  his  old  home  at  Rocky  Mountain 
House,  to  be  ready  to  cross  the  mountains  the  following 
year.  An  attempt  to  trade  with  the  Indians  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  made  from  this  place  in  1801  had  been 
iutile,  but  renewed  efforts  were  now  determined  on.  On 
the  previous  occasion  Duncan  McGillivray,  who  was 
stationed  at  Rocky  Mountain  House,  was  probably  Thompson's 
superior  in  the  Company,  and  controlled  the  policy  of  ex- 
ploration pursued  from  the  uppermost  trading  post  on  the 
Saskatchewan  river,  but  now  Thompson  himself  was  in 
charge  and  was  to  lead  the  trading  parties  through  the 
mountains. 

During  the  winter  great  preparations  were  made  for  an 
•expedition  westward,  and  John  McDonald  of  Garth,  who 
was  in  charge  at  Fort  de  I'Isle  on  the  Saskatchewan  river, 
•came  up  to  Rocky  Mountain  House  twice  to  assist  in  the 
arrangements,  on  one  occasion  in  February  going  to  the 
mountains  himself.  Quesnel  and  Finan  McDonald,  who  were 
Thompson's  assistants,  also  went  to  the  mountains  and 
freighted  up  some  goods  in  advance.  But  everything  was 
done  quietly,  for  the  employees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 


1  DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

pany  under  a  trader  named  J.  P.  Prudens  were  living  in  an 
adjoining  house,  and  were  watching  all  their  movements. 

Having  spent  the  winter  of  1806-7  at  Rocky  Mountain 
House,  Thompson  pushed  westward,  accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  family,  to  the  Columbia  river,  through  what  has  since 
been  called  the  Howse  Pass,  though  Joseph  Howse,  who  was  a 
clerk  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  did  not 
travel  over  it  until  it  had  been  beaten  by  Thompson  for  two 
years.  For  three  years  he  travelled  backwards  and  forwards 
across  the  mountains  through  this  pass,  during  which  time  he 
was  engaged  in  establishing  numerous  trading  posts  on  the 
Columbia  river  and  its  tributaries,  in  making  surveys  of 
every  mile  travelled,  and  in  taking  astronomical  observations 
to  supplement  these  surveys  and  to  determine  the  positions 
of  the  houses  which  he  occupied. 

While  Thompson  was  thus  extending  the  fur-trade  of  the 
North- West  Company  into  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  his  old  employers  had  not  forgotten  him,  and  the 
reports  of  his  explorations  were  anxiously  listened  to  by  the 
Governors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  their  board- 
room in  London.  In  the  spring  of  1808,  the  Governors  wrote 
to  the  Council  at  York  Factory  asking  how  far  west  Thompson 
had  succeeded  in  going,  and  John  McNab  and  his  colleagues 
on  the  Council  sent  answer  that  he  had  wintered  across  the 
mountains  the  previous  year. 

That  winter  McNab  and  his  Council  determined,  if 
possible,  to  see  just  how  far  Thompson  had  gone,  and  con- 
sequently in  1809  they  sent  Joseph  Howse,  a  writer  in  their 
employ,  in  default  of  some  one  better  trained  in  exploratory 
work,  to  go  west  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  discover  where 
Thompson  was  going  every  year.  After  a  short  journey  into 
the  mountains  Howse  returned  with  his  report. 

In  1 8 10  Howse  again  went  west,  this  time  prepared  with 
a  plentiful  supply  of  trading  goods,  and  ascending  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Saskatchewan  river,  along  the  route  followed 


INTRODUCTION  U 

by  Thompson  in  previous  years,  he  crossed  the  divide  and 
reached  the  Columbia  river,  which  he  ascended  to  its  head, 
and  thence  made  his  way  to  the  Flathead  river  north  of  Flat- 
head lake,  where  he  spent  the  winter  of  1810-11,  not  far 
from  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Kalispell  in  Montana. 

But  one  winter  of  such  trading,  near  the  battle-ground  of 
the  Piegan  and  Flathead  Indians,  was  enough,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1811  Howse  and  all  the  employees  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  abandoned  the  Columbia  valley  to  their  rivals 
of  the  North-West  Company,  and  did  not  enter  it  again 
until  after  the  union  of  the  two  companies  in  1821. 

In  going  up  the  Saskatchewan  river,  Thompson  had  been 
obliged  to  pass  through  the  country  of  the  Piegan  Indians,  who 
were  constantly  at  war  with  the  Kutenai  Indians  on  the  west 
side  of  the  mountains,  and  naturally  the  Piegan  objected  to 
a  trade  which  supplied  their  enemies  with  knives,  spears,  guns, 
powder,  bullets,  and  many  other  articles  which  made  them 
much  more  formidable  in  battle  than  they  had  been  before. 
Even  Thompson's  friendship  with  them  could  not  outweigh 
their  objections  to  this  trade,  and  they  warned  him  that  he 
must  stop  taking  supplies  to  their  enemies,  or  they  would  be 
obliged  to  kill  him  and  all  his  party. 

In  1 810  they  intercepted  Thompson's  brigade  in  the 
mountains  and  forced  the  men  to  fly  for  their  lives  back  down 
the  river.  But  the  Piegan  were  Indians  of  the  plains  and 
not  of  the  woods,  and  Thompson,  who  knew  them  thoroughly, 
decided  to  outwit  them  for  all  time  by  establishing  a  route 
so  far  to  the  north  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  reach  or 
interfere  with  it.  He  therefore  descended  the  Saskatchewan 
for  a  short  distance  to  the  site  of  an  abandoned  house  which 
had  been  known  as  "  Boggy  Hall."  The  season  was  already 
late,  for  there  had  been  just  time  enough  to  cross  the  moun- 
tains by  the  usual  route,  and  the  Indians  had  caused  him  a 
great  deal  of  delay,  but  in  spite  of  the  terrors  of  a  journey 
over  these  mountains  by  an  unknown  pass  so  late  in  the  year 


lii        DAVID   THOMPSON'S  NARRATIVE 

that  it  would  probably  extend  into  the  heart  of  winter,  he 
started  with  a  train  of  pack-horses  north-westward  through 
the  forest  to  the  head  of  the  Athabaska  river,  and,  after 
overcoming  tremendous  difficulties  and  enduring  extreme 
privations,  he  reached  the  Columbia  river  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Canoe  river,  at  a  place  now  known  as  the  Big  Bend,  on 
January  26,  1811.  It  has  often  been  stated  that  Thompson 
was  sent  on  a  rush  journey  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
river  to  forestall  the  employees  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
in  building  a  trading  post  there,  but  in  his  journals  there  is 
no  intimation  whatever  that  such  was  his  errand.  He  was 
perfectly  well  aware  that  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  was  making 
elaborate  preparations  to  establish  trading  posts  on  the 
Columbia  river,  but  for  several  years  he  and  his  people  had 
occupied  advantageous  positions  on  that  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries, and  he  felt  that  he  was  able  to  hold  the  trade.  He 
was  extending  the  fur  trade  of  the  North-West  Company 
among  the  Indians  west  of  the  mountains,  and  was  searching 
out  and  surveying  the  best  routes  by  which  those  Indians 
could  be  reached  and  by  which  the  furs  obtained  from  them 
could  be  transported  to  Montreal,  and  he  travelled  deliber- 
ately and  carefully  with  that  object  always  in  view.  At  the 
same  time  he  remembered  how  the  North-West  Company 
had  been  turned  out  of  Minnesota  by  the  agents  of  the 
American  government,  and  he  determined  to  avoid  a  similar 
contingency  here  by  publicly  claiming  for  Great  Britain  the 
country  in  which  his  posts  were  situated. 

In  the  spring  of  181 1  he  ascended  the  Columbia  river  as 
usual  and  descended  the  Kootenay  river  to  his  old  trading 
posts,  travelled  by  canoe  and  on  horseback  among  these  posts, 
and  then  returned  to  the  Columbia  river,  which  he  reached 
at  Ilthkoyape  or  Kettle  Falls.  From  this  place  he  descended 
the  stream  to  Fort  Astoria  at  its  mouth,  where  he  landed  on 
July  15,  181 1,  and  where  he  found  Duncan  McDougall, 
an  old  partner  of  his,  in  charge  for  the  Pacific  Fur  Company. 


INTRODUCTION  liii 

After  spending  a  few  days  at  Astoria  with  McDougall, 
he  started  back  up  the  Columbia  river  to  the  mouth  of  Snake 
river.  After  travelling  backwards  and  forwards  among  his 
trading  posts  until  the  autumn,  he  again  reached  Ilthkoyape 
Falls.  Here  he  built  a  canoe  and  ascended  the  river  through 
Arrow  lakes,  past  the  present  site  of  Revelstoke,  and  up 
through  the  Dalles  des  Morts,  whose  treacherous  rapids  and 
whirlpools  have  been  fatal  to  so  many  boatmen,  to  the  Big 
Bend,  or  Boat  Encampment,  and  thus  completed  the  survey 
of  the  river  from  its  source  to  its  mouth.  Portions  of  this 
river  have  never  been  resurveyed  since  that  time,  so  that 
Thompson's  surveys  still  appear  on  every  map  of  the 
Columbia  river  that  is  published. 

Thompson  had  now  been  more  than  twenty-eight  years 
in  northern  and  western  America,  and  his  survey  of  the 
Columbia  had  completed  his  preparations  for  the  making  of 
the  map  of  north-western  America  toward  which  he  had  been 
working  during  these  years.  The  winter  of  1811-12  he  spent 
on  Clark's  Fork  and  its  tributaries,  with  headquarters  at 
Saleesh  House,  and  in  the  spring  of  181 2  he  recrossed  the 
mountains  and  set  off  down  the  Athabaska  and  Churchill 
rivers  for  Montreal.  He  arrived  in  Montreal  late  in  the 
summer,  after  a  long  and  arduous  journey  and  a  narrow 
escape  from  the  Americans,  between  whom  and  Great  Britain 
war  had  just  been  declared  ;  and  never  again  did  he  visit  the 
scenes  of  his  western  exploits.  At  this  point  the  narrative 
which  is  here  presented  concludes. 

Thompson  took  up  his  residence  at  Terrebonne,  in  the 
province  of  Quebec,  and  immediately  enlisted  as  an  ensign  in 
the  2nd  Battalion  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Roderick  Mac- 
kenzie, with  his  old  companion  Simon  Fraser  as  one  of  his  fellow 
officers.  He  spent  the  two  years  181 3-14  in  preparing  his  map 
of  western  Canada  for  the  North-West  Company,  on  a  scale 
of  about  fifteen  miles  to  an  inch,  from  the  observations  and 
surveys  that  he  had  made  during  the  previous  twenty-three 


lii        DAVID   THOMPSON'S  NARRATIVE 

that  it  would  probably  extend  into  the  heart  of  winter,  he 
started  with  a  train  of  pack-horses  north-westward  through 
the  forest  to  the  head  of  the  Athabaska  river,  and,  after 
overcoming  tremendous  difficulties  and  enduring  extreme 
privations,  he  reached  the  Columbia  river  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Canoe  river,  at  a  place  now  known  as  the  Big  Bend,  on 
January  26,  1811.  It  has  often  been  stated  that  Thompson 
was  sent  on  a  rush  journey  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
river  to  forestall  the  employees  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
in  building  a  trading  post  there,  but  in  his  journals  there  is 
no  intimation  whatever  that  such  was  his  errand.  He  was 
perfectly  well  aware  that  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  was  making 
elaborate  preparations  to  establish  trading  posts  on  the 
Columbia  river,  but  for  several  years  he  and  his  people  had 
occupied  advantageous  positions  on  that  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries, and  he  felt  that  he  was  able  to  hold  the  trade.  He 
was  extending  the  fur  trade  of  the  North-West  Company 
among  the  Indians  west  of  the  mountains,  and  was  searching 
out  and  surveying  the  best  routes  by  which  those  Indians 
could  be  reached  and  by  which  the  furs  obtained  from  them 
could  be  transported  to  Montreal,  and  he  travelled  deliber- 
ately and  carefully  with  that  object  always  in  view.  At  the 
same  time  he  remembered  how  the  North- West  Company 
had  been  turned  out  of  Minnesota  by  the  agents  of  the 
American  government,  and  he  determined  to  avoid  a  similar 
contingency  here  by  publicly  claiming  for  Great  Britain  the 
country  in  which  his  posts  were  situated. 

In  the  spring  of  181 1  he  ascended  the  Columbia  river  as 
usual  and  descended  the  Kootenay  river  to  his  old  trading 
posts,  travelled  by  canoe  and  on  horseback  among  these  posts, 
and  then  returned  to  the  Columbia  river,  which  he  reached 
at  Ilthkoyape  or  Kettle  Falls.  From  this  place  he  descended 
the  stream  to  Fort  Astoria  at  its  mouth,  where  he  landed  on 
July  15,  1 81 1,  and  where  he  found  Duncan  McDougall, 
an  old  partner  of  his,  in  charge  for  the  Pacific  Fur  Company. 


INTRODUCTION  lii* 

After  spending  a  few  days  at  Astoria  with  McDougall, 
he  started  back  up  the  Columbia  river  to  the  mouth  of  Snake 
river.  After  travelling  backwards  and  forwards  among  his 
trading  posts  until  the  autumn,  he  again  reached  Ilthkoyape 
Falls.  Here  he  built  a  canoe  and  ascended  the  river  through 
Arrow  lakes,  past  the  present  site  of  Revelstoke,  and  up 
through  the  Dalles  des  Morts,  whose  treacherous  rapids  and 
whirlpools  have  been  fatal  to  so  many  boatmen,  to  the  Big 
Bend,  or  Boat  Encampment,  and  thus  completed  the  survey 
of  the  river  from  its  source  to  its  mouth.  Portions  of  this 
river  have  never  been  resurveyed  since  that  time,  so  that 
Thompson's  surveys  still  appear  on  every  map  of  the 
Columbia  river  that  is  published. 

Thompson  had  now  been  more  than  twenty-eight  years 
in  northern  and  western  America,  and  his  survey  of  the 
Columbia  had  completed  his  preparations  for  the  making  of 
the  map  of  north-western  America  toward  which  he  had  been 
working  during  these  years.  The  winter  of  1811-12  he  spent 
on  Clark's  Fork  and  its  tributaries,  with  headquarters  at 
Saleesh  House,  and  in  the  spring  of  181 2  he  recrossed  the 
mountains  and  set  off  down  the  Athabaska  and  Churchill 
rivers  for  Montreal.  He  arrived  in  Montreal  late  in  the 
summer,  after  a  long  and  arduous  journey  and  a  narrow 
escape  from  the  Americans,  between  whom  and  Great  Britain 
war  had  just  been  declared  ;  and  never  again  did  he  visit  the 
scenes  of  his  western  exploits.  At  this  point  the  narrative 
which  is  here  presented  concludes. 

Thompson  took  up  his  residence  at  Terrebonne,  in  the 
province  of  Quebec,  and  immediately  enlisted  as  an  ensign  in 
the  2nd  Battalion  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Roderick  Mac- 
kenzie, with  his  old  companion  Simon  Fraser  as  one  of  his  fellow 
officers.  He  spent  the  two  years  181 3-14  in  preparing  his  map 
of  western  Canada  for  the  North-West  Company,  on  a  scale 
of  about  fifteen  miles  to  an  inch,  from  the  observations  and 
surveys  that  he  had  made  during  the  previous  twenty-three 


liv       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

years.  This  map,  which  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Province  of  Ontario,  and  is  reproduced  on  a  some- 
what reduced  scale  in  the  present  volume,  is  entitled  : 

"  Map  of  the  North  West  Territory  of  the  Province  of  Canada, 
1 792-1 8 1 2,  embracing  region  between  Latitudes  45  and  56,  and 
Longitudes  84  and  124. 

"Map  made  for  the  North  West  Company  in  1813-1814." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  is  almost  on  the  same 
scale  as  the  great  international  map  of  the  world  which  is 
now  being  prepared  under  the  auspices  of  the  governments 
of  the  various  civilized  countries. 

On  February  10,  1814,  he  was  registered  in  Terrebonne  as 
a  land  surveyor.  From  18 16  to  1826  he  was  engaged  in  sur- 
veying and  defining  the  boundary  line,  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  between  Canada  and  the  United  States.  He  was 
employed  in  1 817  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  thence  proceeding 
westward  around  the  shores  of  the  Great  Lakes  he  reached 
the  north-west  angle  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  in  1825.  In 
1834  ^^  surveyed  Lake  St.  Francis  on  the  St.  Lawrence  river  ; 
in  1837  he  made  a  survey  of  the  canoe  route  from  Lake 
Huron  to  the  Ottawa  river ;  and  a  few  years  later  he  made  a 
survey  of  Lake  St.  Peter. 

The  last  years  of  his  life  were  spent  by  Thompson  first  at 
Williamstown,  Glengarry  county,  Ontario,  and  afterwards  in 
Longueuil,  opposite  Montreal.  In  Williamstown,  he  bought 
the  property  of  the  Rev.  John  Bethune,  the  father  of  the 
former  Bishop  of  Toronto  ;  and  for  a  time  he  was  in  com- 
fortable, if  not  indeed  wealthy,  circumstances.  But  towards 
the  end  of  his  life  he  fell  on  evil  days.  A  mortgage  which 
he  held  on  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Williamstown,  the 
congregation  proved  unable  to  pay  ;  and  Thompson  deeded 
to   them   the    church    and    the   grounds.^      He   set   up    his 

'  This  statement  depends  upon  the  authority  of  one  of  David  Thompson's 
daughters,  Mrs.  W.  R.  Scott. 


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INTRODUCTION  Iv 

sons  *  in  business,  and  they  failed  ;  and  in  paying  off  their  debts, 
he  impoverished  himself.  When  he  removed  to  Longueuil,  he 
was  still  able  to  make  a  comfortable  living,  until  his  eyesight 
failed  him.  His  position  then  became  pathetic.  He  was  so 
poor  that  he  had  to  sell  his  instruments  and  even  to  pawn  his 
coat  to  procure  food  for  himself  and  his  family.  In  one  of 
his  note-books,  he  writes  :  "  Borrowed  2s.  6d.  from  a  friend. 
Thank  God  for  this  relief."     And  in  another  place  he  tells 

^  Thompson  had  seven  sons  and  six  daughters.  In  the  family  Bible  there 
are  inscribed  in  Thompson's  own  handwriting  the  following  entries  : 

"  David  Thompson,  born  in  the  Westminster  Parish  of  St.  John,  April  30th, 
1770. 

"Charlotte  Small,  wife  of  David  Thompson,  born  September  ist,  1785,  at 
Isle  a  la  Crosse,  married  to  David  Thompson,  June  loth,  1799. 

"Fanny  Thompson,  bom  June  loth,  1801.     Rocky  Mountain  House. 

"Samuel  Thompson,  born  March  5th,  1804.     Peace  River  Forks. 

"  Emma  Thompson,  born  March,  1806.     Reed  Lake  House. 

"  John  Thompson,  born  August  25th,  1808.     Boggy  Hall,  Saskatchewan. 

"Joshua  Thompson,  born  March  28th,  181 1.     Fort  Augustus. 

"Henry  Thompson,  born  July  30th,  1813.     Terrebonne  Village. 

"John  Thompson,  deceased  January  nth,  1814,  at  7  A.M.  in  the  Village  of 
Terrebonne,  buried  in  Montreal  the  12th  inst.  No.  353.  Aged  5  years  and 
near  5  months,  a  beautiful,  promising  boy. 

"Emma  Thompson,  deceased  Feb.  22nd,  1814,  at  7.25  p.m.  Aged  7  years 
and  near  11  months.  Buried  close  touching  her  brother  in  Montreal.  No  353. 
An  amiable,  innocent  girl,  too  good  for  this  world. 

"  Charlotte  Thompson,  born  7th  July,  181 5,  at  ii|  a.m.  Village  of  Terre- 
bonne. 

"Elizabeth  Thompson,  born  25th  April,  1817,  at8  p.m.,  at  the  Village  of 
Williamstown,  River  Raisin,  Glengarry. 

"William  Thompson,  born  9th  November,  1819,  at  the  Village  of  Williams- 
town,  River  Raisin,  Glengarry. 

"Thomas  Thompson,  born  July  loth,  1822,  at  4  p.m.  Williamstown,  Glen- 
garry, Up.  Canada. 

"George  Thompson,  born  13th  July,  i  a.m.,  1824,  Williamstown,  Glengarry, 
Up.  Canada,  died  August  27th,  10^  A.M.  Buried  August  28th,  1824.  Aged 
7  weeks. 

"Mary  Thompson,  born  April  2,  1827,  at  Williamstown,  12  p.m.  Glen- 
garry, Up.  Canada. 

"Eliza  Thompson,  born  March  4,  1829,  at  Williamstown,  baptized  by  the 
Rev.  John  Mackenzie,  April  12,  1829. 

"  Henry  Thompson,  died  23  October,  1855,  aged  42,  buried  in  Mount  Royal 
Cemetery,  Montreal." 


Ivi       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  trying  to  sell  to  a  gentleman  his  maps  of  Lake  Superior 
and  his  sketches  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  "  He  would  not 
purchase,  but  loaned  me  $5.00.  A  good  relief,  for  I  had  been 
a  week  without  a  penny." 

Thompson  died  at  Longueuil,  on  February  10, 1857,  at  the 
ripe  old  age  of  nearly  eighty-seven  years.  His  wife  survived 
him  by  only  three  months  ;  she  died  on  May  7  of  the  same 
year ;  and  they  both  lie  buried  in  Mount  Royal  cemetery  in 
Montreal,  without  mark  or  monument  to  show  their  resting- 
place. 

David  Thompson  was  a  man  of  somewhat  singular  appear- 
ance. "  He  was  plainly  dressed,  quiet  and  observant,"  wrote 
the  naturalist  of  the  International  Boundary  Commission 
with  regard  to  his  first  meeting  him  in  the  year  1817.^  "  His 
figure  was  short  and  compact,  and  his  black  hair  was  worn 
long  all  round,  and  cut  square,  as  if  by  one  stroke  of  the 
shears,  just  above  the  eyebrows.  His  complexion  was  of  the 
gardener's  ruddy  brown,  while  the  expression  of  deeply 
furrowed  features  was  friendly  and  intelligent,  but  his  cut- 
short  nose  gave  him  an  odd  look.  ...  I  might  have  spared 
this  description  of  Mr.  David  Thompson  by  saying  he  greatly 
resembled  Curran,  the  Irish  orator."  Dr.  Bigsby  conceived 
a  great  admiration  for  his  colleague.  "  Never  mind  his 
Bunyan-like  face  and  cropped  hair  ;  he  has  a  very  powerful 
mind,  and  a  singular  faculty  of  picture-making.  He  can 
create  a  wilderness  and  people  it  with  warring  savages,  or 
climb  the  Rocky  Mountains  with  you  in  a  snow  storm,  so 
clearly  and  palpably,  that  only  shut  your  eyes  and  you  hear 
the  crack  of  the  rifle,  or  feel  the  snow-flakes  on  your  cheeks 
as  he  talks." 

One  of  Thompson's  most  striking  characteristics  was  his 
piety,  the  fruit  of  his  early  years  in  the  Grey  Coat  School 
in  Westminster.  The  "  thank  Good  Providence,"  with  which 
he  so  frequently  concludes  the  account  of  his  expeditions, 

^  J.  J.  Bigsby,  The  Shoe  and  Canoe,  vol.  i.  pp.  1 13-14. 


INTRODUCTION  Ivii 

was  no  mere  formula,  but  the  sincere  thanksgiving  of  a  devout 
man.  "  Our  astronomer,  Mr.  Thompson,"  wrote  Dr. 
Bigsby,^  "  was  a  firm  churchman  ;  while  most  of  our  men 
were  Roman  Catholics.  Many  a  time  have  I  seen  these 
uneducated  Canadians  most  attentively  and  thankfully  listen, 
as  they  sat  upon  some  bank  of  shingle,  to  Mr.  Thompson, 
while  he  read  to  them,  in  most  extraordinarily  pronounced 
French,  three  chapters  out  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  as 
many  out  of  the  New,  adding  such  explanations  as  seemed  to 
him  suitable."  Thompson's  piety  was  not  of  an  obtrusive 
sort,  but  there  were  few  white  men  in  the  West  in  those  early 
days  who  bore  so  consistently  as  he  did  the  white  flower  of  a 
blameless  life. 

Typical  of  him  was  his  attitude  towards  the  trading  of 
spirituous  liquors  to  the  Indians.  He  was  a  strong  opponent 
of  the  liquor  traffic  ;  and  while  he  was  in  charge  of  the  western 
posts  no  alcoholic  liquors  were  allowed  to  be  taken  to  them. 
The  years  in  which  Thompson  was  in  the  West  were  perhaps 
the  period  in  which  this  debasing  trade  was  at  its  worst.  Rival 
companies  were  vying  with  each  other  for  the  furs  ;  and  cheap 
spirits  were  regarded  by  the  traders  as  the  most  profitable 
sort  of  barter.  Such,  however,  was  not  Thompson's  view. 
He  believed  that  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquor  in  trade  was 
a  short-sighted  policy  ;  and  he  gives  in  his  own  words  an 
amusing  account  of  how  he  prevented  the  trade  from  spread- 
ing during  his  time  beyond  the  Rockies. 

"I  was  obliged,"  he  says  in  his  account  of  the  expedition  of  1808, 
"  to  take  two  kegs  of  alcohol,  overruled  by  my  Partners  (Mess^^s  Don<* 
McTavish  and  Jo  McDonald  [of]  Gart[h])  for  I  had  made  it  a  law  to 
myself,  that  no  alcohol  should  pass  the  Mountains  in  my  company,  and 
thus  be  clear  of  the  sad  sight  of  drunkeness,  and  its  many  evils :  but  these 
gentlemen  insisted  upon  alcohol  being  the  most  profitable  article  that 
could  be  taken  for  the  indian  trade.  In  this  I  knew  they  had  mis- 
calculated ;  accordingly  when  we  came  to  the  defiles  of  the  Mountains 

^  J.  J.  Bigsby,  The  Shoe  and  Canoe,  vol.  ii.  pp.  205-6. 


Iviii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

I  placed  the  two  Kegs  of  Alcohol  on  a  vicious  horse  ;  and  by  noon  the 
Kegs  were  empty,  and  in  pieces,  the  Horse  rubbing  his  load  against 
the  Rocks  to  get  rid  of  it  ;  I  wrote  to  my  partners  what  I  had  done  ; 
and  that  I  would  do  the  same  to  every  Keg  of  Alcohol,  and  for  the  next 
six  years  I  had  charge  of  the  furr  trade  on  the  west  side  of  the  Moun- 
tains, no  further  attempt  was  made  to  introduce  spirituous  Liquors." 

Thus  for  a  few  years  at  least  Thompson  kept  the  curse  of 
alcoholism  from  debasing  the  Indians  of  southern  British 
Columbia,  Washington,  and  Idaho. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  at  this  time  to  appreciate  to  its  full 
extent  the  work  which  Thompson  did  for  the  furtherance  of 
geographical  knowledge  on  the  continent  of  North  America. 
It  is  necessary  to  go  back  a  little  and  to  review  briefly  what 
was  known  of  the  geography  of  western  Canada  at  the  time 
when  Thompson  landed  on  the  shore  of  Hudson  Bay.  An 
idea  may  be  obtained  of  the  geographical  knowledge  that 
was  prevalent  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  by 
reference  to  page  xxv,  where  the  books  which  were  used  in 
the  Grey  Coat  School  at  the  time  are  enumerated.  It  is 
true  that  geographical  knowledge  and  progress  were  just 
beginning  to  pervade  the  thoughts  of  the  educated  people 
throughout  the  world,  but  exploration,  led  by  Captain  James 
Cook  and  a  few  others,  was  being  largely  confined  to  the 
ocean  rather  than  to  the  land.  Moreover,  the  settlements  in 
eastern  America  had  carried  with  them  a  knowledge  of  the 
geography  of  the  country  westward  as  far  as  Lake  Superior 
and  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  but  beyond  these  parts  the 
country  was  still  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  native  Indians, 
Away  to  the  north,  a  mining  fever  had  induced  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  send  a  man  inland  from  Hudson  Bay  to 
investigate  the  report  of  an  enormous  copper  deposit  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Coppermine  river,  and  this  man,  Samuel 
Hearne,  had  made  a  sketch  of  the  route  which  he  followed. 

In  1784,  the  year  in  which  Thompson  reached  Hudson 
Bay,  the  great  map  of  the  world  accompanying  the  account 


INTRODUCTION  lix 

of  Cook's  third  voyage  was  published,  and  in  that  map,  part 
of  which  is  reproduced  in  this  volume,  it  will  be  seen  that 
almost  the  whole  of  north-western  America,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  that  portion  sketched  by  Hearne  in  his  journey  to  the 
Coppermine  river,  is  left  blank.  This  map  represents  the 
very  latest  information  in  the  possession  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment and  people,  and,  in  fact,  in  the  possession  of  the  whole 
civiHzed  world,  at  that  time. 

Thompson  had  thus  a  large  part  of  a  new  continent  ready 
for  his  work,  and  he  must  have  recognised  that  rough  sketches, 
such  as  had  undoubtedly  been  made  by  some  of  his  com- 
panions in  the  fur  trade,  were  of  Httle  permanent  value,  and 
that  to  make  such  a  map  as  would  be  a  credit  to  him  and  an 
advantage  to  geographers  in  the  world  at  large,  he  must  first 
carefully  .determine  the  positions  of  some  of  the  principal 
places  or  natural  objects  in  the  country.  In  fact,  he  recog- 
nised the  true  importance  of  a  great  trigonometrical  survey 
of  the  country,  with  some  places  carefully  located  by  observa- 
tions for  latitude  and  longitude,  and  then  with  connecting 
surveys  made  in  such  ways  as  were  possible  to  him  between 
those  places.  Thus,  from  the  very  first,  he  laid  his  plans  for 
a  map  of  the  country  carefully  and  well. 

In  the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade  Thompson  travelled 
more  than  50,000  miles  in  canoes,  on  horseback,  and  on  foot 
through  what  was  then  an  unmapped  country,  and  no  matter 
what  the  difhculties  or  dangers  of  the  journeys  might  be,  he 
never  neglected  his  surveys.  While  a  good  deal  of  this  dis- 
tance was  made  up  of  trips  over  ground  that  he  might  have 
been  over  before,  advantage  was  always  taken  to  make  re- 
surveys  and  check  the  correctness  or  accuracy  of  previous 
work.  He  always  continued  to  occupy  his  spare  time  in  the 
winter,  when  he  was  not  travelling,  in  taking  observations  and 
determining  with  great  care  the  positions  of  any  places  at 
which  he  might  be  stopping. 

He  obtained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  topography  of 


Ix        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  whole  of  the  country  which  he  was  able  to  visit.  The 
lengths  of  the  rivers,  the  heights  of  the  mountains,  the  extent 
of  the  plains,  were  all  alike  investigated,  and  the  results  were 
recorded  by  him.  All  the  explorers  who  preceded  him,  and 
most  of  those  who  followed  him,  were  content  to  survey- 
individual  Hnes  of  travel  and  to  be  able  to  place  these  lines 
in  approximately  their  correct  positions  on  a  map,  but 
Thompson's  ambition  was  to  accomplish  much  greater  results 
than  these,  namely,  to  determine  and  delineate  the  physical 
features  of  the  whole  of  north-western  America.  Alexander 
Mackenzie  and  Simon  Fraser,  two  of  the  early  explorers  whose 
work  has  received  public  recognition,  devoted  all  their  time 
and  energy  during  their  exploring  trips  to  the  one  object  of 
successfully  accomplishing  their  explorations  and  surveys,  and 
after  these  explorations  were  completed  they  turned  to  other 
work ;  but  Thompson  was  not  a  spasmodic  explorer ;  with  him 
surveying  was  his  chief  pleasure  and  life-work.  During  only 
one  year,  when  on  his  journey  to  the  Mandan  Indian  villages 
and  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi  river,  was  he  able 
to  devote  his  whole  time  to  surveying  and  exploring  work. 
During  the  rest  of  his  life  in  the  West  he  was  merely  taking 
advantage  of  the  positions  in  which  he  might  be  situated. 
His  business  was  the  trading  in  furs,  but  he  was  in  the  middle 
of  unknown  country,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  pristine 
wilderness  waiting  to  be  surveyed.  In  the  intervals  of  his 
trade,  he  was  exploring,  surveying,  and  depicting  by  regular 
methods  on  the  map,  the  features  of  the  country  in  which 
he  was  living,  so  that  ever  afterwards  anyone  else  would  be 
able  to  form  an  intelligent  idea  of  it.  The  excellence  and 
greatness  of  his  work  is  accounted  for  largely  by  this  systematic 
continuation  of  surveys,  practically  without  a  break,  for 
twenty- three  years. 

His  surveys  were  not  merely  rough  sketches  sufficient  to 
give  some  idea  of  the  general  character  of  the  country,  but 
were  careful  traverses  made  by  a   master  in  the  art,  short 


PART   OF   THE   MAP   OF   THE   WORLD    IN   COOK'S    THIRD   VOYAGE 
Published  in  1784,  the  year  in  which  David  Thompson  landed  at  Fort  Churchill 


INTRODUCTION 


Ixi 


courses  being  taken  with  a  magnetic  compass,  the  variation 
of  which  was  constantly  determined,  distances  being  carefully 
estimated  by  the  time  taken  to  travel  them,  and  the  whole 
checked  by  numerous  astronomical  observations  for  latitude 
and  longitude. 

His  astronomical  observations  were  made  with  the  greatest 
care,  his  latitudes  being  taken  from  the  sun  or  any  star  or 
planet  which  was  conveniently  situated  at  the  time,  while  his 
longitudes  were  usually  determined  by  one  or  more  observa- 
tions for  lunar  distances.  Geographers  will  readily  appreciate 
the  excellence  of  this  work  by  a  glance  at  the  following  table 
of  longitudes  chosen  at  random  from  the  large  number  recorded 
by  him  between  the  years  1789  and  181 2. 


Place. 

Thompson's  Longitude. 

Longitude  by  latest 
Surveys. 

Vork  Factory    .        .  , 
Cumberland  House  . 
Kootanae  House 
Rocky  Mountain  House 
Fort  Augustus  . 
Buckingham  House  . 
Peace  River  Forks    . 
McDonnell's  House . 
Saleesh  House  . 
Spokane  House 

92°  29'  20" 
102°    13' 
115°   51'  40" 
114°   52' 
113°   II' 
110°  41' 
117°   13'   14" 

99°  27'  15" 
115°  22'  51" 
117°  27' 

92°  27' 
102°   16' 
116°  00' 
114°  57' 
113°    2' 
110°  45' 
117°  23' 

99°  n' 
115°  15' 

117°  33' 

A  reduced  copy  of  the  great  map  which  he  drew  is  pub- 
lished at  the  end  of  the  present  volume,  and  by  comparing 
it  with  the  Cook  map  opposite  page  Ix  some  little  idea  may 
be  gained  of  the  magnitude  of  the  work  which  Thompson, 
almost  single-handed,  accomplished  in  the  intervals  of  time 
that  he  was  able  to  spare  from  his  work  as  a  fur  trader. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  a  man  who  has  done  such  mag- 
nificent work  as  was  accomplished  by  this  great  geographer 
should  have  received  so  little  recognition.  But  recognition 
is,  or  should  be,  founded  on  knowledge,  and  his  geographical 
work  has  remained  almost  unknown.     The  first  and  perhaps 


Ixii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  chief  reason  which  has  contributed  to  the  general  ignor- 
ance of  Thompson's  work  was  the  remarkable  modesty  and 
single-mindedness  of  the  man  himself.  Self-abasement  had 
doubtless  been  taught  to  him  in  the  Grey  Coat  School,  and 
his  lonely  life  in  the  West  had  emphasized  this  side  of  his 
character.  He  never  talked  much,  or  boasted  of  his  own 
exploits,  and  his  writing  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  his 
note-books,  in  which  he  entered  with  perfect  regularity  the 
details  of  his  surveys  and  the  incidents  of  trade. 

It  is  true  that  in  his  later  years,  when  the  competence 
which  he  had  accumulated  in  the  West  had  disappeared,  and 
when  he  was  scarcely  able  to  get  enough  work  to  do  to  enable 
him  to  provide  food  for  his  family,  he  wrote  the  account  of 
his  life  in  the  West  which  is  here  given  ;  but  it  was  not 
published.^ 

He  was  an  excellent  story  teller,  but  very  retiring,  and  the 
fact  that  his  wife  was  a  native  of  the  West  and,  like  other 
natives,  perhaps  shy  and  diffident,  doubtless  kept  him  from 
participating  in  the  social  life  of  Montreal.  He  was  hardly 
the  sort  of  man  who  was  likely  to  be  in  his  element  among 
the  rollicking,  heavy-drinking  North-Westers  who  made 
Beaver  Hall  Club  in  Montreal  their  headquarters. 

Moreover,  during  the  time  when  he  was  in  the  employ 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  his  note-books  and  maps 
were  turned  over  to  the  Company,  and  by  them  passed  on  to 
Arrowsmith,  the  mapmaker,  in  London,  who  incorporated 
them  in  the  maps  of  British  North  America,  and  for  this 
information  Arrowsmith  gave  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
credit,  but  nothing  was  said  of  Thompson,  the  man  who  had 
made  the  surveys.  Therefore,  his  work  was  entirely  unknown 
to  anyone  outside  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  that  time  ; 

*  Thompson's  daughter,  Mrs.  Shaw,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
Washington  Irving  endeavoured  to  obtain  the  manuscript,  but  that  the  terms  or 
conditions  which  he  offered,  chiefly  as  regards  acknowledgment,  were  not 
satisfactory,  and  Thompson  would  not  give  it  to  him. 


INTRODUCTION  Ixiii 

and  as  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  records  themselves, 
they  are  even  yet  practically  closed  to  investigators. 

After  he  had  joined  the  North- West  Company,  he  con- 
tinued to  hand  over  his  sketches  and  the  records  of  his  surveys 
to  his  associates,  and  when  his  great  map  was  finally  com- 
pleted it  was  taken  by  them  and  hung  on  the  walls  of  their 
board-room  in  Fort  William,  where  scarcely  anyone  but  the 
traders  themselves  was  likely  to  see  it.  The  information 
contained  in  it  was  sent  to  Arrowsmith  as  before,  but  we  look 
in  vain  on  any  of  his  maps  for  recognition  of  Thompson  or 
his  work.  That  some  people  of  influence  at  the  time  recog- 
nised his  ability  is  certain,  or  this  poor  boy  from  a  charity 
school  in  London,  who  had  educated  himself  as  a  surveyor 
on  the  plains  and  mountains  of  the  West,  would  not  have  been 
appointed  as  astronomer  for  the  British  Government  to  run 
the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  British 
North  America.  But  the  record  of  that  survey  was  made  on 
maps  and  not  in  books.  The  people  who  study  maps  are  few 
compared  to  those  who  read  books,  and  consequently,  often 
great  maps  may  remain  in  manuscript  unpublished  when 
even  trivial  books  are  published  with  profit  and  read  with 
enthusiasm. 

In  addition  to  the  reasons  for  non-recognition  inherent  in 
the  man  himself,  the  fur  trade  of  the  country,  which  was  its 
only  tangible  asset  at  that  time,  became  centred  in  the  hands 
of  two  great  Companies,  and  after  the  union  of  these  Com- 
panies in  1 82 1,  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  alone,  which 
became  a  virtual  monopoly  with  headquarters  in  London. 
Private  enterprise  was  stifled,  and  the  people  of  Canada,  and 
in  fact  of  the  whole  of  North  America,  lost  touch  with  a  country 
in  which  they  had  no  commercial  interest  and  in  the  trade  of 
which  they  were  not  allowed  to  participate.  Thus,  while 
thrilling  accounts  of  adventure  in  north-western  America, 
such  as  Irving's  Astoria,  or  Ross's  Fur  Hunters  of  the  Far  West, 
might  be  read  with  interest,  regardless  of  location,  accounts 

e 


Ixiv      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  work  done  to  promote  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  country 
were  disregarded. 

After  Thompson  left  north-western  Canada,  the  inspira- 
tion for  surveying  that  country  died  completely  out,  except 
where  it  was  connected  with  the  exploration  of  the  northern 
shore  of  the  continent  of  America,  and  the  determination  of 
the  possibility  of  a  water  passage  from  Europe  to  Asia  to 
the  north  of  it;  and  when  in  1857,  forty-five  years  after 
the  termination  of  Thompson's  work,  the  Government  of 
Canada  began  to  look  westward  and  wanted  a  map  of  western 
Canada,  the  very  best  that  it  could  do  was  to  repubHsh 
Thompson's  map  of  181 3,  without,  however,  giving  him 
credit  for  it,  except  by  a  small  note  in  one  corner  ;  and  to 
this  day  some  parts  of  the  maps  of  Canada  published  by  the 
Canadian  Government,  the  railway  companies,  and  others, 
are  taken  from  Thompson's  map. 

Thompson's  maps  and  note-books  are  a  lasting  monument 
to  the  work  he  accomplished  for  north-western  America,  and 
while  this  monument  has  remained  in  obscurity  up  to  the 
present,  the  people,  both  of  the  east  and  west,  will  eventually 
recognize  its  grandeur,  and  will  do  homage  to  the  memory 
of  the  man  who  designed  and  constructed  it. 


DAVID    THOMPSON'S    ITINERARY    IN 
NORTH-WESTERN  AMERICA,   1785-1812 

1785-1789 

For  the  first  five  years  after  Thompson  landed  on  the  shores  of 
Hudson  Bay,  he  spent  his  time  chiefly  at  Churchill  and  York  Factories 
and  on  the  Saskatchewan  river  ;  and  during  this  period  he  appears  to 
have  travelled  about  tviro  thousand  miles,  though  he  had  not  yet  begun 
to  make  surveys  of  any  of  the  routes  which  he  followed.  In  1785  he 
made  the  journey  from  Churchill  to  York  Factory  along  the  shores  of 
Hudson  Bay  ;  in  1786  he  ascended  the  Hayes  and  Saskatchewan  rivers 
from  York  Factory  past  Cumberland  and  Hudson  Houses  to  Manchester 
House.  From  there  he  made  a  journey  south-westward  across  the 
great  plains  to  a  camp  of  the  Piegan  on  the  banks  of  Bow  river,  where 
he  spent  a  winter  (1787-88  ?),  returning  to  Manchester  House  in  the 
following  year.  About  1788  he  seems  to  have  returned  to  Hudson's 
House  ;  and  from  Hudson's  House  he  travelled  in  1789  to  Cumberland 
House,  in  Pine  Island  lake,  one  of  the  expansions  of  the  Saskatchewan 
river.  It  was  here,  in  the  winter  of  1789-90,  that  he  began  his  life- 
work  as  a  surveyor  by  taking  a  large  number  of  astronomical  observations. 
By  these  observations  he  determined  the  exact  position  of  Cumberland 
House  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  so  that  no  matter  how  hastily  his 
surveys  of  the  surrounding  country  might  be  made,  he  had  that  as  a 
definite  fixed  position  to  which  to  refer. 

1790 

In  the  spring  of  1790  he  was  ordered  to  accompany  the  fur  brigade 

to  York  Factory  ;  and    on    June  9    he    left  Cumberland  House,  and 

began    the   survey  from   there    down   the  Saskatchewan   river   to    its 

mouth,  which  was  reached  on  June  15.     Thence  he  proceeded  along 

the  north  shore  of  Great  Lake  (Lake  Winnipeg)  through  Playgreen 

(Buscuscoggan)   lake,   and    from    there    by   the    regular    water    route 

Ixv 


Ixvi      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

through  Holy  (Oxford)  lake,  Trout  river,  Knee  and  Swampy  lakes, 
and  Hayes  river  to  York  Factory.  After  staying  a  while  at  York 
Factory  he  returned  to  Cumberland  House,  doubtless  by  the  same 
route  (for  he  did  not  make  another  survey),  and  wintered  there. 

1791 

In  the  summer  of  1791  he  again  descended  to  York  Factory,  and 
here  he  spent  the  following  year. 

1792 

On  September  5,  1792,  he  left  York  Factory  with  two  canoes, 
descended  Hayes  river,  rounded  the  point  in  Hudson  Bay,  and 
ascended  the  Nelson  river,  making  a  survey  of  the  route  as  he  went. 
On  September  28  he  reached  Split  lake,  and  on  September  30  the 
"  Saskatchewan  River."  ^  A  little  farther  up  stream  William  Cook 
with  one  of  the  canoes  turned  up  Grass  river  to  Chatham  House  on 
Wintering  lake,  but  Thompson  with  the  other  canoe  kept  on  up  the 
main  stream,  and  on  October  8  arrived  at  a  rocky  point  on  the  west 
side  of  Sipiwesk  lake,  where  he  built  a  trading  post.^  During  the 
winter  he  took  no  less  than  twenty-eight  lunar  observations  for  longi- 
tude. However,  this  proved  to  be  a  poor  place  for  either  fish  or 
game,  and  on  several  occasions  he  was  obliged  to  go  to  Chatham 
House,  which  was  only  about  thirty  miles  away,  and  seek  provisions 
from  his  friend  William  Cook. 

1793 
In  the  following  spring,  when  the  river  was  clear  of  ice,  he  started 
from  Seepaywisk  House,  and  descended  to  the  lower  end  of  the  lake, 

^  In  applying  the  name  "Saskatchewan  River"  to  that  portion  of  the 
Nelson  river  above  Split  river,  Thompson  was  doubtless  following  the  usage 
of  the  natives  and  employees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  of  that  time. 
There  is  ground  for  believing  that  the  name  Saskatchewan  was  originally 
applied  to  that  portion  of  the  Nelson  river  which  flows  from  Lake  Winnipeg 
to  Split  lake,  rather  than  to  the  great  river  above  Lake  Winnipeg  to  which 
the  name  is  now  applied. 

*  The  place  where  "Seepaywisk  House"  appears  to  have  stood  is  now 
covered  with  a  grove  of  poplars,  with  a  forest  of  spruce  in  the  background. 
Two  rocky  points  project  into  the  lake  and  form  a  snug  little  harbour  for 
small  boats.  Looking  towards  the  south-west,  Sipiwesk  lake,  dotted  with  dark 
green  islands,  extends  away  to  the  distant  horizon. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA      Ixvii 

carried  over  Cross  Portage,  surveyed  Susquagemow  (Landing)  lake,* 
carried  over  Thicket  Portage,  and  entered  Chatham  (Wintering)  lake, 
where,  on  a  long  point  extending  northw^ard  into  the  lake,  the  Com- 
pany had  a  post.  After  three  days  spent  here  he  resumed  his  journey, 
first  across  the  rest  of  Wintering  lake,  then  over  two  portages,  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile  and  a  mile  and  a  quarter  long  respectively,  to  McKay's 
(Paint)  lake,  now  known  as  Manuminan  or  (Red)  Paint  lake,  and 
thence  across  into  Pipe  lake  and  up  Weepiskow  (Burntwood)  river, 
and  through  Wuskwatim  and  Burntwood  lakes.  From  Burntwood 
river  he  carried  his  canoe  across  Duck  Portage  into  Missinipi 
(Churchill)  river,  which  he  ascended  for  thirty-three  miles,  intending 
to  proceed  to  Reindeer  lake.  He  was,  however,  unable  to  find  the 
Indians  whom  he  expected  to  meet,  and  in  latitude  55°  25'  20"  N., 
longitude  102°  10'  \cf  W.,  he  turned  back  and  made  his  way  down 
the  Burntwood  and  Nelson  rivers  to  York  Factory,  where  he  arrived 
on  July  21.  During  this  journey  he  had  discovered,  and  determined 
the  positions  of,  three  settlements  of  the  Canadian  traders,  kept  respec- 
tively by  McKay,  Baldwin,  and  White  (Wabiscow),  and  he  had  found 
a  route  which  was  short  and  easy  compared  to  that  used  by  the 
Canadian  traders  by  which  to  bring  in  supplies  to  oppose  them.  His 
journal  contains  minute  descriptions  of  all  parts  of  this  route,  with  the 
lengths  and  positions  of  the  portages,  how  to  approach  or  depart  from 
them  with  canoes,  how  and  where  the  rapids  should  be  run,  and  so  forth. 
After  stopping  a  few  weeks  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  on  the  shore  of  Hudson  Bay,  the  energetic  young  sur- 
veyor set  off  once  more.  By  the  Hayes  river  route  he  ascended  again 
to  the  Saskatchewan  river,  and  arrived  on  October  5  at  his  old  home 
at  Cumberland  House.  On  the  8th  he  left  Cumberland  House, 
and  continued  the  ascent  of  the  Saskatchewan.  On  the  15th  he 
reached  the  Forks,  where  he  turned  up  the  south  branch,  and  after 
three  days'  travel  he  reached  South  Branch  House,^  situated  somewhere 

^  The  Cree  name  for  this  lake  is  Suskiskwegimew  Sakahigan,  translated  as 
Where-the-Sturgeon-put-their-heads-against-the-Rock  lake.  This  is  the  lake 
called  by  Jeremie,  who  was  in  charge  of  Fort  Bourbon  in  1714,  Anisquaoui- 
gamou,  although  the  meaning  given  by  him  for  the  Indian  word  is  incorrect. 

*  It  does  not  appear  when  this  trading  post  was  founded,  but  it  was  visited 
by  Thompson  on  October  18,  1793.  On  June  24,  1794,  according  to  the 
journal  of  Peter  Fidler,  who  was  at  York  Factory  at  the  time,  it  was  plundered 
and  burnt  by  the  Fall  Indians  who  had  plundered  Manchester  House  the 
previous  autumn.     There  were  nine  people  in  the  fort  at  the  time.     Of  these, 


Ixviii      DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

near  Gardepui's  Crossing,  east  of  Duck  lake.  Here  he  took  horses, 
and  reached  Manchester  House,  his  former  home  on  the  North 
Saskatchewan,  on  October  28,  and  Buckingham  House  on  October  31, 
the  latter  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  North  Saskatchewan,  in 
latitude  53**  52'  7*  N.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  was  a  new  post  of 
the  North-West  Company,  called  Fort  George,  which  had  been  built 
by  Angus  Shaw  the  previous  year,  and  which  was  then  in  charge  of 
Angus  Shaw  and  John  McDonald  of  Garth. 

While  Thompson  travelled  on  horseback,  the  boats  with  their 
cargoes  continued  up  the  stream,  but  unfortunately  the  winter  set  in 
early  that  year,  and  they  were  caught  in  the  ice  near  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Battleford,  and  were  obliged  to  transport  the  goods  on 
horseback  the  rest  of  the  way  to  Buckingham  House. 

From  Buckingham  House  Thompson  rode  out  to  the  Beaver  hills, 
near  where  Fort  Augustus  was  afterwards  built,  and  returned  to  Buck- 
ingham House  on  November  29.  Here  he  spent  the  winter,  keep- 
ing, as  usual,  a  meteorological  register,  taking  observations  for  longitude 
and  latitude,  and  working  out  his  former  traverses  by  latitude  and 
departure. 

1794 
On  May  16,  1794,  he  started  down  stream  to  York  Factory. 
The  river  from  Buckingham  House  to  the  Forks  had  not  yet  been 
surveyed,  therefore  he  surveyed  that  portion  of  it,  and  continued  on 
making  a  resurvey  of  the  rest  of  the  river.  Manchester  House  was 
passed  on  the  evening  of  May  18,  and  on  May  22  he  reached 
what  he  calls  the  Lower  Crossing,  a  place  which  his  observation  for 

three  men,  Magnus  Annel,  Hugh  Brough,  and  William  Fea,  one  woman  and 
two  children  were  murdered  ;  two  young  women  were  carried  away  as  slaves  ; 
and  one  man  named  Vandereil  escaped  by  concealing  himself  in  an  old  cellar, 
and  reached  York  Factory  with  the  news  of  the  massacre  on  August  11.  The 
North- West  Company  had  a  post  about  one  thousand  yards  away,  which  the 
Indians  attacked,  but  from  which  they  were  beaten  off  with  a  loss  of  fourteen 
killed  and  wounded.  After  this,  however,  the  post  was  abandoned,  and  the 
men  went  down  the  river  to  some  place  on  the  Saskatchewan  below  the  Forks. 
Later,  in  1804,  the  post  was  rebuilt  at  a  place  six  miles  above  its  former  site, 
after  the  abandonment  of  Chesterfield  House,  which  was  at  the  Forks  of  the 
Red  Deer  and  Bow  rivers  still  farther  up  the  same  river.  Daniel  Harmon 
was  at  this  post  for  the  North- West  Company  in  1805,  and  Joseph  Howse  for 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1806-7.  Peter  Fidler  puts  it  in  latitude  52°  53' 
N .,  which  would  be  near  Gardepui's  Crossing. 


ITINERARY  IN   N.-W.   AMERICA       Ixix 

latitude  places  in  Section  i8,  Tp.  46,  Range  3,  west  of  the  Third 
Principle  Meridian,  near  the  village  of  Silver  Grove.  From  here 
William  Tomison,  who  was  probably^  now  in  charge  of  this  brigade  of 
canoes,  rode  over  to  South  Branch  House.  Two  places  of  the  name 
of  Hudson's  House  Were  then  passed,  the  loWer  of  the  two  being 
Tomison's  old  home.^  On  May  27  the  mouth  of  the  South  Branch 
was  reached,  and  next  day  Thompson  seems  to  have  passed  the  site  of 
Fort  k  la  Come,  which  was  not  occupied  at  that  time,  without  noticing 
it ;  for  the  first  place  he  mentions  is  Isaac's  House,  38'  of  longitude 
east  of  the  Forks,  which  would  place  it  somewhere  in  Range  17  west 
of  the  Second  Meridian.  Nine  and  three-quarter  miles  below  it  was 
the  Canadian  post  at  the  ''Nepoin,"  kept  by  Porter  and  McLeod. 
Still  lower  down  the  river  was  "  Hungry  Hall,"  where  Ross  and 
Thoburn  had  lived  in  1792-93,  doubtless  at  Tobin  Rapids,  which  is 
about  fourteen  miles  above  Sturgeon  t-iver.^ 

On  June  2  he  arrived  at  Cumberland  House.  But  instead  of 
returning  to  the  Saskatchewan  by  Tearing  river,  and  proceeding 
thence  by  the  regular  route  through  Lake  Winnipeg  to  York  Factory, 
he  turned  north-eastward  through  his  old  trading  ground,  and  paddled 
through  Namew  or  Sturgeon  lake,  up  Goose  river  to  Goose  lake, 
and  thence  into  Athapapuskow  lake.  On  the  east  side  of  this 
lake  he  left  the  waters  which  flow  southward  to  the  Saskatchewan, 
and  crossed  Cranberry  Portage,  a  level  portage  of  two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  seventy-five  paces,  which,  when  visited  by  the  writer 
in  the  fall  of  1896,  was  beautifully  dry  throughout  its  length.     From 

^  These  two  houses,  referred  to  respectively  as  Upper  and  Lower  Hudson's 
House,  are  shown  by  Thompson's  survey  to  have  been  situated  on  the  north- 
west bank  of  the  river  about  fifteen  miles  apart.  The  upper  post  was  estab- 
lished by  Philip  Tumor  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  about  1776,  as  an 
outpost  from  Cumberland  House,  and  was  then  the  uppermost  settlement  on  the 
Saskatchewan  river.  In  the  Introduction  to  Captain  Cook's  Third  Voyage, 
it  is  stated,  apparently  on  Tumor's  authority,  to  have  been  in  latitude  53°  o' 
32"  N.  This  agrees  closely  with  Thompson's  survey,  and  places  it  in 
Section  32,  Tp.  46,  Range  3,  west  of  the  Third  Meridian,  about  four  miles 
north  of  Silver  Grove,  Saskatchewan.  Lower  Hudson's  House,  which  was 
built  at  a  later  date,  apparently  by  Tomison,  was  situated  fifteen  miles 
farther  down  the  river  three  or  four  miles  below  a  place  now  known  as  Yellow 
Banks,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Steep  Creek.  Here  Thompson  had  spent  the 
winter  of  1788-89. 

^  Alexander  Henry,  ascending  this  river  in  1808,  speaks  of  "an  old  estab- 
lishment, abandoned  n^any  years  ago,"  just  above  "  Grand"  (Tobin)  Rapids. 


Ixx      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  portage  he  crossed  Cranberry  lake,  descended  the  Elbow  river 
to  Ithenootosequan  or  Elbow  lake,  and  thence  went  on  down  Grass 
river,  between  barren,  rocky  hills,  to  Reed  lake.  Here  he  left  Ross 
to  build  a  trading  post,  and  himself  continued  down  Crooked  and 
File  rivers  to  Burntwood  lake,  noting  on  the  way  two  places  which 
had  been  occupied  respectively  by  the  traders  from  Churchill  and  by 
Robert  Thompson  during  the  previous  winter.  Thence  he  followed 
his  route  of  the  previous  spring  down  the  Burntwood  and  Nelson 
rivers  to  York  Factory.  He  arrived  at  the  latter  place  on  July  5, 
and  remained  there  twenty-one  days.  Then  he  turned  back,  and 
travelling  up  Nelson  and  Grass  rivers,  reached  Reed  Lake  House  on 
Reed  lake  on  September  2.  Here,  in  the  midst  of  an  excellent 
country  for  fish,  game,  and  fur-bearing  animals,  he  spent  the  winter 
of  1794-95,  and  during  the  intervals  of  an  active  fur  trade,  he  took 
forty-six  lunar  distance  observations  for  longitude. 

1795 

This  year,  in  company  with  Malcolm  Ross,  Thompson  arrived  at 
York  Factory  on  July  5  with  three  large  and  two  small  canoes.  On 
July  1 8,  he  and  Ross  left  York  Factory  and  ascended  the  Nelson  river. 
On  September  6,  they  arrived  at  Duck  Portage  at  the  west  end  of  Sisipuk 
lake,  which  is  one  of  the  expansions  of  the  Churchill  river.  Here 
they  decided  to  divide  the  goods  they  had  brought  for  trade,  Ross  going 
on  with  two  large  canoes  and  one  small  canoe  to  a  point  a  mile  below 
the  mouth  of  Reindeer  river,  where  he  built  a  house  named  by  him 
Fairford  House,  Thompson  with  four  men  built  a  trading  post  on  the 
south  side  of  Duck  Portage.  His  observations  place  it  in  latitude 
55°  40'  30"  N.,  and  longitude  102°  7'  37"  W,,  a  position  practically 
identical  with  that  which  it  occupies  on  the  most  recent  maps.  He 
had  hardly  got  his  house  built  when  a  Canadian  arrived  with  six  Indians 
in  a  large  canoe,  and  built  a  house  thirty  yards  to  the  eastward. 

1796 

On  January  12,  1796,  George  Charles  with  five  men  from  Churchill 
called  with  the  ostensible  object  of  seeing  if  it  were  possible  to  collect 
some  debts  that  were  owed  to  them  by  the  Indians,  and  when  Charles 
departed  two  days  later  for  Three  Point  lake  he  left  three  men  behind 
for  the  winter.     Thus  Thompson  had  not  only  to  compete  with  the 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA       Ixxi 

Canadians  from  Montreal,  but  he  had  also  to  compete  in  trade  with 
other  employees  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  from  Churchill,  who 
were  not  under  the  authority  of  the  Council  at  York.  The  remainder 
of  the  winter  seems  to  have  been  rather  uneventful,  broken  only  by 
visits  from  employees  of  the  Company  from  Reed  lake,  Fairford 
House,  and  Three  Point  lake. 

In  the  spring  Thompson  first  made  a  survey  eastward  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Kississing  river.  Then,  after  returning  to  Duck 
Portage  House,  he  ascended  and  surveyed  the  Churchill  river  to 
Fairford  House,  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  Reindeer  river.  Here 
he  obtained,  with  difficulty,  two  Indian  canoemen,  and  on  June  lO 
started  to  make  a  survey  northward  through  Reindeer  and  Wollaston 
lakes,  and  down  Black  river  to  the  east  end  of  Lake  Athabaska  ;  but 
the  account  of  this  survey  need  not  be  repeated  here,  as  it  will  be 
found  in  full  in  Thompson's  own  words  on  pages  133-53.  That 
autumn  Thompson  returned  to  Reindeer  lake,  and  spent  the  winter 
of  1796-97  with  Malcolm  Ross  at  a  post  which  he  called  Bedford 
House,  on  the  west  side  of  that  lake. 

1797 

On  May  28,  1797,  having  decided  to  sever  his  connection  with 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Thompson  arrived  on  foot  at  the  house 
of  Alexander  Fraser,  at  the  head  of  the  Reindeer  river,^  and  took 
employment  with  the  North-West  Company.  On  June  7,  after 
having  been  hospitably  entertained  by  the  North-West  Company's 
agent,  he  set  out  for  Cumberland  House,  and  reached  it  on  June  23. 
After  a  stay  of  four  days  here,  he  set  out  once  more,  reached  Lake 
Winnipeg  on  June  28,  and  travelling  by  way  of  Winnipeg  river, 
arrived  at  Grand  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  on  July  22,  having  as 
usual  made  a  survey  of  his  route. 

On  August  9  he  set  out  from  Grand  Portage  on  one  of  his  most 
remarkable  journeys.  In  company  with  Hugh  McGillis,  he  descended 
Rainy  river,  passing  a  fort  half  a  mile  below  the  Falls  on  the  2ist, 
and  went  on  through  Rainy  lake  and  Lake  of  the  Woods.  From  this 
lake  he  descended  Winnipeg  river,  and  on  September   i   he  reached 

1  No  sign  of  this  old  trading  post  could  be  found  when  I  passed  through 
the  lake  in  1894;  but  Thompson  states  that  it  was  in  latitude  56°  20'  22"  N., 
which  would  place  it  on  Big  Island  a  little  north  of  the  present  outpost  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  on  the  mainland  opposite  this  island. 


Ixxii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Lftke  Winnipeg.  He  crossed  this  lake,  ascended  the  Dauphin  river, 
crossed  Lake  Manito  (Manitoba),  and  reached  Lake  Winnipegosis 
by  way  of  the  Meadow  Portage.  On  September  17,  being  camped 
a  mile  and  a  half  north  of  the  Little  Dauphin  (Mossy)  river,  the 
party  received  provisions  from  Fort  Dauphin,  on  or  near  Dauphin 
lake.^     They  then  proceeded  northward  up  the  west  shore  of  Lake 

^  Fort  Dauphin  was  one  of  the  oldest  trading  posts  in  the  North-West. 
Its  position  was  changed  from  time  to  time,  although  it  was  always  in  the 
good  hunting  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  Dauphin  lake.  It  was  first  built  on 
the  Mossy  river  in  the  autumn  of  1741,  by  Pierre,  one  of  the  sons  of  the 
Sieur  de  la  Vdrendrye,  who  had  travelled  northward  from  Fort  la  Reine 
(Portage  la  Prairie),  across  Prairie  Portage  into  Lake  Manitoba,  and  thence 
by  Lake  Winnipegosis  into  Mossy  river.  Bougainville  states  that  it  was 
eighty  leagues  from  La  Reine  on  the  river  Minanghenachequek^,  which  is 
the  present  Indian  name  for  Mossy  river.  Harmon,  in  his  Journal,  p.  52, 
speaks  of  "the  establishment  at  the  entrance  of  the  River  Dauphin,  which 
falls  into  the  west  end  of  this  [Winnepegosis]  lake.  At  that  place  a  French 
missionary  resided  before  the  British  obtained  possession  of  Canada.  He 
remained  there  but  a  short  time."  In  1889,  I  found  the  cellars  and  ruins 
of  an  old  trading  post  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mossy  river,  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  above  its  mouth,  on  a  narrow  strip  of  grassy  land  between  the  forest 
and  the  river.  The  site  was  probably  built  upon  several  times  ;  but  possibly 
the  first  house  erected  here  was  that  of  Pierre  de  la  Verendrye.  Peter  Pond, 
who  appears  to  have  been  the  first  Englishman  to  occupy  a  fort  of  this  name 
after  the  place  was  abandoned  by  the  French,  gives  the  location  of  the  post 
occupied  by  him  in  1775,  at  the  north-west  angle  of  Lake  Dauphin.  (See 
Peter  Pond's  map  of  1790,  Can.  Arch.  Report,  1890,  p.  53.)  But  I  could  find 
no  trace  of  the  existence  of  a  house  at  that  place. 

When  Thompson  was  at  the  mouth  of  Mossy  river  in  1797,  Fort  Dauphin 
was  evidently  a  supply  depot  for  provisions.  The  post  was  not  then,  however,, 
at  the  mouth  of  Mossy  river,  for  it  took  four  days  for  the  canoes  to  go  from 
Meadow  Portage  to  the  mouth  of  Mossy  river,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles, 
thence  to  the  trading  post,  and  back  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Thompson 
was  never  on  Lake  Dauphin,  but  his  map  shows  it  as  lying  east  and  west,  and 
the  post  of  the  North-West  Company  appears  on  a  stream  flowing  into  the 
lake  on  its  southern  side.  The  lake  lies  north-west  and  south-east,  and  the 
south-western  sides  of  all  these  lakes  were  commonly  spoken  of  by  travellers 
as  their  southern  sides,  the  error  being  in  large  part  accounted  for  by  the 
considerable  variation  of  the  magnetic  needle.  The  largest  stream  flowing 
into  the  south-west  side  of  the  lake  is  Valley  river ;  and  in  all  probability  the 
house  visited  by  Thompson's  men  in  1797  must  be  identified  with  the  remains 
of  an  old  post  on  the  south  side  of  Valley  river  a  few  miles  above  its  mouth, 
and  about  two  miles  in  a  straight  line  back  from  the  lake. 

Ruins  of  another  trading  post  of  a  later  date,  belonging  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  exist  in  the  poplar  forest  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake  eight 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA      Ixxiii 

Winnipegosis.  On  September  19,  McGillis  left  to  go  up  the  Red 
Deer  river,  whereas  Thompson  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  Shoal  river. 
He  ascended  this  river,  passed  through  Swan  lake,  and  ascended 
Swan  river  for  four  miles  and  three-quarters  to  Swan  River  House, 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  stream,  in  latitude  52°  24'  5"  N.^ 

Horses  were  then  in  common  use  in  the  Swan  river  valley,  and 
after  resting  a  day  at  the  post,  Thompson  and  Cuthbert  Grant 
borrowed  two  horses  from  Thomas  Swain  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  started  up  the  valley  on  a  trail  which  ran  for  most  of 
the  distance  along  the  north  side  of  the  river.  On  the  second  day 
they  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  Swan  river,  and  rode  six  miles  to 
a  house  kept  by  one  Belleau  in  a  "  hummock  of  pines  "  on  the  bank 
of  Snake  Creek,  almost  on  the  present  line  of  the  Second  Principal 
Meridian,  and  about  six  miles  north  of  Fort  Pelly.  From  here  he 
turned  southward,  and  continued  his  survey  past  the  post  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  the  Elbow  of  the  Assiniboine  river  to  the 
house  of  Cuthbert  Grant,  which  was  situated  in  Tp.  28,  Range  31, 
south-west  of  the  present  village  of  Runnymede  on  the  Canadian 
Northern  Railway.^  Here  he  remained  till  October  14,  when  he 
returned  to  Belleau's  House  on  Snake  Creek,  in  order,  if  possible,  to 
obtain  guides  to  take  him  up  the  Swan  river,  across  the  watershed 
to  Red  Deer  river,  and  thence  around  to  the  head  waters  of  the 
Assiniboine  river.  From  this  date  to  November  28  his  journal  was 
lost,  but  he  states,  "I  surveyed  the  Stone  Indian  [Assiniboine]  River 
upward,  and  its  sources,  and  the  Red  Deer  River  and  its  sources,  and 

miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  Valley  river.  Alexander  Murray  is  said  to 
have  traded  here  in  the  late  seventies.  The  ruins  of  yet  another  house  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which  was  only  used  as  a  winter  post  for  a  short 
time  in  the  seventies,  is  to  be  seen  at  the  south-east  angle  of  the  lake. 

^  As  Harmon,  who  arrived  here  three  years  later,  points  out  in  his  Journal ^ 
this  post  is  twelve  miles  up  the  river  from  its  mouth  ;  and  this  is  where  it  is 
placed  on  J.  B.  Tyrrell's  map  of  North-Western  Manitoba  (1891),  published  by 
the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada.  The  house  was  in  a  grove  of  poplar  ;  and 
half  a  mile  farther  west  was  the  Dog  Knoll,  where  the  men  used  to  move 
the  stores  in  times  of  flood.  A  couple  of  miles  higher  up  the  river,  and 
twenty-five  paces  back  of  it  on  the  north  side,  where  the  banks  are  fifteen  feet 
high,  is  the  position  of  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

*  In  1890  the  remains  of  an  old  establishment  were  to  be  seen  in  the  south- 
west quarter.  Section  14,  Tp.  28,  R.  31,  west  of  the  First  Meridian,  five  hundred 
paces  east  of  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  fifty  paces  from  the  foot  of  the  side  of 
the  valley,  at  the  mouth  of  a  dry  ravine. 


Ixxiv      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

from  thence  returned  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Cuthbert  Grant,  at  the 
Brooks,  on  the  Stone  Indian  River."  He  gives  in  his  journal,  how- 
ever, traverses  worked  out  by  latitude  and  departure  which  show  his 
course  to  have  been  from  Belleau's  House  to  the  Upper  House  on  Red 
Deer  river,  in  latitude  52°  47'  44"  N.*  From  here  he  turned  south- 
westward,  and  continued  his  survey  to  the  "Upper  House  on  Stone 
Indian  River,"  afterwards  known  as  Alexandria,  where  Daniel  Harmon 
spent  the  years  1800- 1805.*  From  Alexandria  he  travelled  down  the 
river  to  the  Elbow,  and  thence  to  Cuthbert  Grant*s  House.  From 
there  he  continued  southward  to  Thorburn's  House  on  the  Qu'  Appelle 
river,  a  few  miles  above  its  mouth,  in  latitude  50°  28'  57"  N.,  and 
thence  to  McDonnell's  House  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Souris  river. 

The  winter  had  by  this  time  set  in,  when  travelling  on  the  open 
plains  was  unpleasant  and  dangerous,  but  Thompson  was  anxious  to 
find  out  the  exact  positions  of  those  Indian  villages  on  the  Missouri 
where  the  people  lived  by  the  cultivation  of  corn  as  well  as  by  hunting 
the  buffalo.  With  this  object  in  view,  and  with  the  hope  also  that 
some  of  these  Indians  might  be  induced  to  establish  a  regular  trade 
with  the  North- West  Company,  he  set  out  from  McDonnell's  (Assini- 
boine)  House,  on  November  28,  with  nine  men,  a  few  horses,  and 
thirty  dogs,  and  started  south-westward  across  the  plain.  On  Decem- 
ber 7  he  reached  Old  Ash  House  on  the  Souris  river,  "settled 
two  years  ago  and  abandoned  the  following  spring  "  ;  and  here,  having 
been  unable  to  procure  a  guide  for  the  rest  of  the  journey,  he  was 
himself  compelled  to  assume  the  lead.  By  way  of  Turtle  Mountain, 
he  struck  across  the  plains  until  he  again  reached   the  Souris  river, 

^  Thompson's  map  shows  this  house  to  have  been  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Red  Deer  river.  It  was  probably  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Etoimami  river, 
between  three  and  four  miles  south  of  Hudson  Bay  Junction  on  the  Canadian 
Northern  Railway,  where  the  ruins  of  two  old  houses  were  to  be  seen  in  1889. 
This  post  is  probably  the  one  referred  to  as  Fort  La  Biche  on  Pond's  map  of 
1790,  though  there  it  is  wrongly  placed  on  the  Swan  river.  It  was  doubtless 
one  of  the  oldest  trading  posts  south  of  the  Saskatchewan  river  and  west  of 
the  Manitoba  lakes  ;  the  only  other  posts  designated  on  this  map  being  Fort 
Dauphin  on  Lake  Dauphin,  and  Fort  Epinette  on  the  Assiniboine  river. 

*  See  Harmon's y<7«r«a/,  p.  59.  Thompson's  map  places  this  post  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Assiniboine  river  in  latitude  51°  46'  58"  N.,  which  would  place 
it  in  Section  27,  Tp.  32,  R.  3,  west  of  the  Second  Meridian.  Peter  Fidler  had 
spent  the  winter  of  1795-96  in  an  adjoining  house  belonging  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  which  was  called  by  him  Charlton  House. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA       Ixxv 

which  he  followed  up  to  its  "  bight "  ;  thence  he  crossed  the  plains, 
a  distance  of  thirty-seven  miles,  to  the  Missouri  river,  reaching  it  on 
December  29  at  a  point  six  miles  above  the  upper  of  the  Mandan 
villages.  At  these  villages,  which  were  five  in  number,  he  remained 
until  January  10,  trying  to  induce  the  Indians  to  come  north  to 
trade,  but  with  very  little  success,  as  they  were  afraid  of  the  Sioux. 
While  here,  he  wrote  down  a  vocabulary  of  the  Mandan  language, 
containing  about  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  words. 

1798 

He  left  the  Mandan  villages  on  January  10,  1798,  but  being 
delayed  by  severe  storms,  did  not  reach  the  Souris  river  until 
January  24,  and  he  did  not  arrive  at  McDonnell's  House  at  the  mouth 
of  Souris  river  until  February  3.  The  account  of  this  journey  is 
given  in  his  own  words  on  pages  209—42.  At  Souris  River  Post 
he  remained  until  February  26,  making  up  his  notes  and  plans,  and 
preparing  himself  for  a  longer  trip,  this  time  on  foot,  to  connect  the 
waters  of  the  Red  and  Mississippi  rivers,  and  thence  onward  to 
Lake  Superior,  a  trip  which  his  companions  ridiculed  as  being  im- 
possible to  accomplish  before  the  advent  of  summer.  On  February  26, 
however,  he  started  out  on  foot  with  a  dog  team,  and  followed  the 
course  of  the  Assiniboine  eastward  to  its  mouth,  making  as  usual  a 
survey  of  his  route  ;  and  passing  on  his  way  Pine  Fort  and  Poplar 
House,  both  of  which  had  been  abandoned,  and  some  houses  a  little 
below  the  Meadow  Portage  to  Lake  Manitoba.  On  March  7  he 
reached  the  Forks  of  the  Assiniboine  and  Red  rivers,  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Winnipeg,  though  no  mention  is  made  of  any  habita- 
tion there  at  that  time.  Travelling  on  the  ice,  he  turned  up  the 
latter  stream,  and  on  the  second  day  reached  Chaboillez's  old  house 
of  the  North-West  Company,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  up  Rat  Creek  above 
its  mouth,  in  latitude  49°  33'  S^"  N.,  a  few  miles  west  of  Niverville, 
on  the  Emerson  branch  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 

On  March  14  he  crossed  the  boundary  line  into  the  United 
States,  and  reached  the  house  of  Charles  Chaboillez  at  the  mouth 
of  Summerberry  or  Pembina  river,  in  latitude  48°  58'  29"  N.,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  town  of  Pembina  in  North  Dakota.  After  a  week 
spent  here,  he  proceeded  up  Red  river,  passing  the  house  of  the 
North-West  Company  kept  by  a  trader  named  Roy,  at  the  mouth  of 
Salt  river,  and  then  ascended  Red  Lake  river  to  the  mouth  of  Clear 


Ixxvi      DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

river,  where  there  was  a  North-West  Company's  house  kept  by 
Baptiste  Cadotte,  in  latitude  47°  54'  21"  N.,  close  to  the  present  site  of 
Red  Lake  Falls.  He  reached  this  house  on  March  24,  and  at  once 
endeavoured  to  proceed  eastward  on  foot,  but  was  obliged  to  return 
and  wait  for  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice,  as  "  the  snow  thawing  made 
the  open  country  like  a  lake  of  open  water."  On  April  9  he  made 
a  fresh  start  from  Cadotte's  House,  this  time  in  a  canoe  with  three 
men.  He  ascended  Clear  river  for  six  days,  carried  across  to  Red 
Lake  river,  and  ascended  Red  Lake  river  to  Red  lake,  which  he 
reached  at  a  point  in  latitude  47°  58'  15"  N. 

The  lake  was  still  covered  with  ice,  but  after  waiting  for  three  days 
he  was  able  to  force  his  canoe  southward  for  two  miles  between  the 
ice  and  the  shore  to  an  old  house  which  had  been  occupied  by  Cadotte 
the  previous  winter.  Here,  farther  progress  by  water  being  impos- 
sible, he  built  a  sled,  and  putting  the  canoe  and  all  the  baggage  of  the 
party  on  it,  he  harnessed  himself  and  men  in  front  of  it,  and  hauled 
it  for  fifteen  miles  across  the  ice  of  the  lake  to  a  portage  six  miles  in 
length,  which  was  crossed  the  following  day  to  a  small  brook ;  after 
which  he  wound  his  way  through  small  lakes  and  brooks,  and  walked 
over  short  portages  till,  on  April  27,  he  arrived  at  Turtle  lake,  from 
which  flows  "  Turtle  Brook."  This  lake  was  pronounced  by  Thomp- 
son to  be  the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  A  generation  later  it  was 
discovered  that  the  Mississippi  took  its  rise  in  Itasca  lake,  a  few  miles 
farther  south.  But  the  two  lakes  are  so  near  together  that  it  may  be 
■said  that  to  this  indefatigable,  but  hitherto  almost  unknown,  geographer 
belongs  the  virtual  credit  of  discovering  the  head-waters  of  this  great 
river. 

From  Turtle  lake  Thompson  descended  Turtle  Brook  to  Red 
Cedar  (Cass)  lake,  on  which  there  was  a  North- West  Company's 
house,  kept  by  John  Sayer,  which  he  places  in  latitude  47°  27' 
56"  N.  and  longitude  95°  W.  He  remained  here  from  April  29  to 
May  3  ;  then  he  again  embarked  and  struck  across  to  the  Mississippi 
river,  down  which  he  travelled  through  "  Winnipegoos "  (Winnibi- 
goshish)  lake  to  the  mouth  of  Sand  Lake  river.  Here  he  left  the 
main  stream  of  the  Mississippi,  and  turned  up  Sand  Lake  river  to 
Sand  lake  (Sandy  lake  in  Aitkin  county),  on  which  was  a  house 
belonging  to  the  North- West  Company,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  east 
from  the  head  of  the  river,  in  latitude  46°  46'  39"  N.  From  this 
house  he  crossed  the  lake  to  the  mouth  of  Savannah  Brook,  which  he 
followed  up  to  the  Savannah  Carrying  Place,  a  deep  bog  four  miles 


ITINERARY   IN   N,^W.   AMERICA      Ixxvii 

across.  He  crossed  this  portage  to  a  small  creek  that  flows  into  the 
St.  Louis  river,  and  descended  the  latter  stream  to  Fond  du  Lac 
House,  in  latitude  46°  44'  2"  N.,  three  miles  up  the  river  from  Lake 
Superior.  He  reached  this  post  on  May  10,  two  months  and  eighteen 
days  after  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  Souris  river.  From  here  he 
surveyed  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior ;  and  on  May  20  he 
arrived  at  the  Falls  of  Ste.  Marie.  On  June  i  he  left  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  in  a  light  canoe  with  eleven  men,  in  company  with  Messrs. 
Mackenzie,  McLeod,  and  Stuart,  and  reached  Grand  Portage  on 
June  7.  The  time  was  a  busy  one  at  this  the  central  post  of  the 
North- West  Company,  and  in  his  journal  Thompson  gives  a  very  in- 
teresting account  of  the  men  who  were  almost  daily  arriving  from,  and 
departing  for,  many  widely  separated  posts  throughout  the  west. 

On  July  14  he  started  once  more  for  the  interior  with  the 
English  (Churchill)  river  brigade,  and  after  passing  Fort  Charlotte, 
Rainy  Lake  House,  and  Rat  Portage,  he  arrived  at  "Winnipeg 
House,"  1  at  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeg  river,  on  July  31.  Having 
travelled  along  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  he  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Saskatchewan  on  August  9,  and  on  August  18  Cumberland 
House,  where  Peter  Fidler  was  in  charge  at  the  English  (Hudson's 
Bay  Company)  House,  and  Primo  was  in  charge  of  the  post  of  the 
North- West  Company.  On  August  19  he  left  here,  his  destination 
being  Lake  La  Biche,  or  Red  Deer  lake.  Ascending  the  Sturgeon- 
weir  river,  and  passing  through  Amisk  lake,  he  reached  Missinipi 
(Churchill)  river  by  way  of  the  Frog  Portage  on  August  24, 
ascended  Churchill  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rapid  river  where 
there  was  a  house  occupied  at  the  time  by  "  Roy,  a  Canadian,  all 
alone,"  and  up  this  stream  to  Lake  La  Ronge,  on  which  was  the  site 
of  an  old  post  where  Simon  Eraser  had  wintered  in  1795-96.  He 
then  returned  to  Churchill  river,  and  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  Rapid 
river  found  a  house  on  the  north  bank  which  the  men  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  had  recently  abandoned.     He  continued  to  ascend  the 

1  This  house,  called  also  Fort  Alexander  and  Bas  de  la  Riviere,  is  said 
by  Roderick  Mackenzie  to  have  been  established  in  1792  by  Toussaint 
Lesieur  a  few  miles  below  and  opposite  the  old  French  Fort  Maurepas. 
Gabriel  Franch^re,  who  passed  the  place  in  1814,  wrote  :  "This  trading  post 
had  more  the  air  of  a  large  and  well-cultivated  farm,  than  a  fur  traders'  factory  ; 
a  neat  and  elegant  mansion,  built  on  a  slight  eminence,  and  surrounded  with 
barns,  stables,  storehouses,  &c.,  and  by  fields  of  barley,  peas,  oats,  and  potatoes." 
The  site  is  still  occupied  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 


Ixxviii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

river  to  Isle  a  la  Crosse  lake.  On  September  6  he  reached  the  "  new 
fort  of  the  North- West  Company's  "  ^  at  the  southern  end  of  the  lake, 
in  latitude  56°  26'  15"  N.,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north-east  of  the  old 
settlement  which  had  been  visited  by  Turnor  several  years  before. 

Here  he  left  goods  for  Alexander  McKay,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
post,  and  on  September  8  he  began  the  ascent  of  Beaver  river,  and  con- 
tinued south  to  the  trading  post  on  Green  lake,  in  latitude  54°  17'  9"N., 
on  the  east  side  of  the  lake,  near  its  north  end.  At  Green  Lake 
House  he  left  his  canoes  to  proceed  up  Beaver  river,  while  he  himself 
took  horses  and  struck  across  the  country  a  little  south  of  west  to  Fort 
George,  on  the  Saskatchewan  river,  close  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's post  at  Buckingham  House,  where  he  had  wintered  in  1793-94. 
After  a  delay  of  three  or  four  days  at  this  place,  he  turned  north- 
westward to  Beaver  river,  which  he  reached  at  the  mouth  of  Moose 
Creek  in  latitude  54°  22'  14"  N.,  whence  with  great  difficulty  he  ascended 
Beaver  river  and  Red  Deer  Brook  to  Red  Deer  lake  (Lake  La  Biche), 
where  he  built  a  house  ^  in  latitude  54°  46'  32"  N.  At  this  house  he 
remained  for  the  winter,  trading  with  the  Indians  and  taking  astro- 
nomical observations. 

1799 

Some  time  between  the  middle  and  end  of  March  1799,  he  left 
Lake  La  Biche  for  Fort  Augustus,  which  at  this  time  was  situated  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  North  Saskatchewan  river,  a  mile  and  a  half 
above  the  mouth  of  Sturgeon  river,  within  the  present  settlement  of 
Fort  Saskatchewan.  This  post  he  places  in  latitude  53°  44'  52"  N. 
and  longitude  113°  ii'  W.,  a  mile  east  of  its  true  position.  It  had 
been  built  four  or  five  years  before  in  order  to  secure  the  trade  with 
the  Blackfeet.  After  staying  here  about  two  weeks,  he  set  out  on 
April  19,  with  three  horses  and  five  men,  and  travelling  north-westward, 
reached   the  Pembina  river  on  the  evening  of  the  21st,  in   latitude 

^  The  position  now  occupied  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  post  of  Isle 
a  la  Crosse  is  at  the  bottom  of  a  little  bay  opening  eastward  near  the  south 
end  of  the  lake.  A  little  farther  north  is  the  site  of  a  former  post  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  ;  and  two  other  sites,  one  of  which  is  said  to  have 
been  occupied  by  the  North-West  Company,  are  on  the  point  still  farther 
north.  On  Thompson's  map  the  post  of  the  North-West  Company  is  marked 
on  the  point  north  of  the  arm  of  the  lake  which  stretches  westward,  toward 
Buffalo  lake;  but  its  exact  position  is  not  known. 

*  A  post  had  previously  been  built  by  Angus  Shaw  on  this  lake  in  1789. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA      Ixxix 

54°  15'  4"  N.,  near  where  it  crosses  the  Fifth  Meridian.  Here  a  canoe 
had  been  built  for  him  ;  so,  sending  back  the  horses,  he  started  down 
the  river,  and  reached  its  mouth  on  Athabaska  river  on  April  25. 
He  surveyed  this  stream  down  to  the  mouth  of  Lesser  Slave  Lake 
river  ;  then  he  turned  into  this  stream,  and  surveyed  it  up  to  Lesser 
Slave  lake ;  and  having  returned  thence,  he  continued  down  the 
Athabaska  river  to  the  new  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Clearwater,  where 
Fort  McMurray  now  stands.  On  May  10,  after  remaining  at  this 
post  for  a  few  days,  he  continued  his  survey,  this  time  up  the  "  Methy 
Portage "  (Clearwater)  river,  crossed  the  Methy  Portage,  and  de- 
scended the  Churchill  river  through  Buffalo  lake  to  Isle  a  la  Crosse 
lake,  which  he  reached  on  May  20.  Thence  he  proceeded  direct 
to  Grand  Portage.  From  Grand  Portage  he  accompanied  John 
McDonald  of  Garth  westward  up  the  Saskatchewan  river  to  Fort 
George,  which  was  found  to  be  in  a  ruinous  condition  ;  and  here  he 
spent  the  winter. 

1800 

In  the  spring  of  1800  Thompson  made  an  expedition  on  horse- 
back from  Fort  George  to  Fort  Augustus,  and  thence  to  Rocky 
Mountain  House.  On  May  5  he  embarked  at  Rocky  Mountain 
House  on  the  North  Saskatchewan  river,  and  made  a  survey  of  it  to 
"  The  Elbow."  On  May  7  he  "  found  the  English  [Hudson's  Bay 
Company]  encamped  for  building "  at  the  mouth  of  a  creek  flowing 
in  from  the  right,  which  he  calls  Sturgeon  Creek  (Buck  Lake  Creek), 
and  on  the  same  evening  he  reached  White  Mud  House,  where  a  clerk 
named  Hughes  was  in  charge  for  the  North- West  Company.  This 
post  was  situated  on  the  north  bank  in  Section  30,  Tp.  51,  Range  2, 
west  of  the  Fifth  Meridian.  On  May  9  he  reached  Fort  Augustus, 
and  on  May  12  Fort  George,  having  passed  a  few  miles  above  it  what 
he  designates  as  "Isle  of  Scotland,  North- West  Company,  1800  and 
1 801,"  apparently  the  island  now  known  as  Fort  island,  in  Section  I2> 
Tp.  55,  R.  8,  west  of  the  Fourth  Meridian. 

On  May  18  he  again  left  Fort  George,  and  on  May  20  passed 
Umfreville's  old  house,  in  Section  4,  Tp.  53,  R.  25,  west  of  the  Third 
Meridian,  where  this  trader  had  spent  the  winters  of  1784-8.  On 
May  21  he  passed  Island  House,  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  mouth  of 
Birch  Brook,  near  Manchester  House  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  ; 
and  on  May  22,  Turtle  River  House,  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the 
mouth  of  Turtle  Brook,  evidently  in  Section  4,  Tp.  46,  R.  18,  west 

/ 


Ixxx      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  the  Third  Meridian.  Alexander  Henry  the  younger  describes  this 
house  as  situated  on  a  low  bottom  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  On 
May  28  Thompson  camped  at  the  Forks,  and  on  June  7  he  arrived  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Saskatchewan.  His  note-books  give  no  further  record 
of  his  proceedings  that  summer,  but  a  summary  in  his  own  handwriting 
states  that  he  continued  east  to  Grand  Portage,  and  returned  to  Rocky 
Mountain  House.  He  adds  that  "  Mr.  Duncan  McGillivray  came 
and  wintered  also,  to  prepare  to  cross  the  mountains." 

From  Rocky  Mountain  House  Thompson  set  out  on  horseback, 
with  five  men  and  three  pack-horses,  on  October  5.  He  travelled 
up  the  Clearwater  river,  and  over  to  the  Red  Deer  river,  which  he 
ascended  till  he  reached  the  mouth  of  William  Creek,  a  small  brook 
in  latitude  51°  41'  41"  N.,  longitude  114°  56'  40"  W.  There,  in  a 
camp  of  Piegan  Indians,  he  remained  for  a  few  days,  and  from  there  he 
rode  twenty-two  miles  west  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains  to  meet  a  band 
of  Kutenai,  consisting  of  twenty-six  men  and  seven  women,  who  had 
crossed  the  mountain  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  reach  his  trading 
post.  He  returned  at  once  with  them,  in  order  to  encourage  them  to 
proceed,  for  the  Piegan  did  their  utmost  to  hinder  and  annoy  them. 
When  they  were  ready  to  return  to  their  own  country  west  of  the 
mountains,  he  sent  La  Gassi  and  Le  Blanc  along  to  spend  the  following 
winter  with  them.  The  route  which  they  took,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
Piegan,  was  up  the  north  side  of  the  Saskatchewan  river.  These 
two  men.  La  Gassi  and  Le  Blanc,  were  therefore  in  all  probability  the 
first  white  men  to  cross  the  mountains  at  the  head  of  the  Saskatchewan 
to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Columbia  river. 

On  November  17,  accompanied  by  Duncan  McGillivray,  and 
attended  by  four  men,  he  set  out  on  horseback  along  the  trail  up 
Clearwater  river,  crossed  Red  Deer  river,  and  reached  Bow  river  at 
a  point  opposite  to  where  the  town  of  Calgary  now  stands,  in  latitude 
51°  2'  56"  N.,  longitude  113°  59' W.  From  here  he  surveyed  the 
north-east  side  of  the  river  down  to  a  short  distance  below  the  bend, 
where  he  crossed  it  and  went  on  to  the  Spitchee  or  Highwood  river, 
which  he  reached  two  miles  above  its  mouth.  From  here  he  turned 
a  little  west  of  south,  and  reached  a  camp  of  the  Pikenows,  or  Piegan, 
in  latitude  50°  35'  30"  N.,  probably  on  Tongue  Flag  Creek.  After 
stopping  here  for  a  short  time  in  order  to  establish  friendly  relations 
with  these  Indians,  he  turned  north-westward  and  again  reached  Bow 
river  at  a  point  which  he  places  in  latitude  51°  13'  57"  N.,  longitude 
114°  48'  22"  W.,  a  short  distance  above  the   mouth  of  Ghost  river. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.    AMERICA       Ixxxi 

From  here  he  followed  the  Bow  river  upwards,  on  its  south  bank  for 
three  miles,  and  then  fording  the  stream  he  followed  the  trail  on  its 
north  bank  to  the  steep  cliffs  of  the  mountains  near  where  the  town 
of  Exshaw  is  now  situated.^  Thence  he  returned  to  his  old  camp  on 
the  Bow  river,  and,  crossing  the  stream,  struck  northward  to  Rocky 
Mountain  House,  which  he  reached  on  December  3. 

During  the  same  year  Duncan  McGillivray  made  a  traverse  west- 
ward from  Rocky  Mountain  House,  at  first  up  the  north  side  of  the 
North  Saskatchewan  river  for  eight  miles,  thence  across  country  to 
Brazeau  river  and  up  it  to  Brazeau  lake,  three  miles  beyond  which 
he  "  proceeded  to  cross  the  Chain  of  Mountains  that  separates  the 
sources  of  the  North  Branch  (Brazeau)  and  the  Athabaska  River." 
Continuing  still  farther  westward,  he  travelled  four  miles  down  a  stream 
flowing  towards  the  west  into  Athabaska  river,  from  which  point  he 
returned  to  Rocky  Mountain  House.  His  traverse  is  carefully  laid 
down  in  Thompson's  note-book. 

1801 

During  the  winter  of  1800-1801,  Thompson  remained  at  Rocky 
Mountain  House,  trading  with  the  Indians,  working  out  old  observa- 
tions and  taking  new  ones,  although  the  last  record  to  be  found  for 
the  winter  is  dated  March  18. 

In  June  Thompson  made  "a  journey  into  the  Rocky  Mountains 
by  land,"  which  is  to  be  found  in  his  note-books  worked  out  by 
latitude  and  departure.  Accompanied  by  Hughes  and  seven  men 
and  an  Indian  guide,  he  followed  the  Saskatchewan  up  to  a  point 
twenty-eight  miles  above  Rocky  Mountain  House,  measured  in  a 
straight  line.  Here  he  left  the  main  river  and  struck  southward  up  the 
valley  of  Sheep  river  to  its  source  in  one  of  the  eastern  ranges  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.     At  this  point  it  was  found  impossible  to  take  the 

^  Near  this  point,  McGillivray  killed  and  preserved  a  mountain  sheep,  which 
about  three  years  later  formed  the  basis  of  three  names — Ovis  canadensis 
Shaw,  Ovis  cervina  Desmarest,  and  "  belier  de  montagne  "  of  Geofifroy  (later 
latinized  as  Ovis  montana  by  Cuvier).  Although  wild  sheep  had  long  been 
known  to  inhabit  North  America,  this  specimen  was  the  first  to  reach  the 
hands  of  systematic  naturalists.  Curiously  enough,  the  two  names  first  men- 
tioned were  published  so  nearly  at  the  same  time  that  the  question  of  priority 
has  been  the  subject  even  within  the  past  few  years  of  considerable  controversy. 
Though  the  evidence  is  not  absolutely  conclusive,  the  name  cattadensis  seems 
best  entitled  to  recognition.  The  important  matter  in  the  present  connection, 
however,  is  the  locality  from  which  the  type  came.     [E.  A.  P.] 


Ixxxii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

horses  further  ;  and,  as  the  guide  knew  of  no  other  pass,  the  party 
returned  to  the  Saskatchewan  river.  An  effort  was  made  to  ascend 
the  stream  in  a  canoe  ;  but  the  river  was  in  flood,  and  it  proved 
impossible  to  stem  the  current.  The  attempt  to  cross  the  mountains 
was  therefore  abandoned  for  the  time  ;  and  the  party  returned  to 
Rocky  Mountain  House,  where  they  arrived  on  June  30. 

The  remainder  of  the  summer  and  the  following  winter  were  spent 
at  Rocky  Mountain  House  ;  but  in  August  and  September  Thompson 
made  a  trip  to  Fort  Augustus  and  back  on  horseback. 

1802 

In  May,  1802,  he  again  descended  the  Saskatchewan  river,  and 
continued  on  to  Lake  Superior,  this  time  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kamini- 
stikwia  river  at  Fort  William,  to  which  place  the  headquarters  of  the 
North-West  Company  had  been  moved  the  previous  year.  From  Fort 
William  he  returned  westward  to  Lesser  Slave  lake,  though  by  what 
route  does  not  appear  from  his  journals.  Probably  he  ascended  the 
Saskatchewan,  and  crossed  overland  from  Fort  Augustus  to  Athabaska 
river,  as  he  had  done  in  1799.  Between  October  21  and  November  9 
he  ascended  from  the  mouth  of  Lesser  Slave  Lake  river  to  the  house 
on  the  west  side  of  Lesser  Slave  lake,  which  he  places  in  latitude 
55°  32'  36"  N.,  on  or  near  the  site  of  the  present  trading  post  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Thence  he  continued  northward  to  a  post 
which  he  speaks  of  as  the  "Forks  of  the  Peace  River," ^  a  name  which 
still  survives  in  a  slightly  changed  form  as  Peace  River  Landing.  He 
places  this  post  five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Smoky  river,  in  latitude 
56°  8'  17"  N.,  and  longitude  117°  13'  14"  W. ;  at  that  time  the  variation 
of  the  magnetic  needle  was  23^°  East, 

1803 

The  year  1803  Thompson  spent  almost  wholly  at  Peace  River 
Forks.  From  January  18  to  June  5  he  kept  a  meteorological 
journal  at  this  post,  jotting  down  at  the  same  time  many  interesting 
notes.  On  June  5  he  notices  the  arrival  of  a  canoe  of  the  X  Y 
Company,  who  put  up  one  hundred  yards  farther  up  the  stream, 
"where  they  are  going  to   build."      From   June    5    to   June   24    he 

^  This  post  had  been  built  by  Alexander  Mackenzie  ten  years  before,  when 
he  was  on  his  journey  from  Lake  Athabaska  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA      Ixxxiii 

was  hunting  in  the  vicinity ;  but  on  June  25  the  meteorological 
journal  was  resumed,  and  kept  up  regularly  to  December  11.  Be- 
tween this  date  and  December  29,  Thompson  made  a  trip  with 
dogs  to  Lesser  Slave  lake  and  back. 

1804 

On  February  29  he  set  ofF  up  the  river  on  foot,  with  a  team  of 
dogs  to  carry  his  provisions  and  baggage,  and  reached  "  Rocky  Moun- 
tain House,"  ^  the  most  westerly  post  of  the  North- West  Company  at 
that  time,  on  March  6.  This  post  he  places  in  latitude  56°  12'  54"  N., 
longitude  1 20°  38'  W.  After  remaining  here  for  two  days,  he  once  more 
turned  eastward,  and  retraced  his  steps  down  the  river,  and  arrived  at 
Peace  River  Forks  on  March  13. 

On  March  15,  probably  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren, he  started  on  the  long  journey  to  Fort  William.  He  travelled 
down  the  river  on  the  ice  to  Horse  Shoe  House,  in  latitude  57°  8'  N. ; 
here  he  remained  from  March  20  to  April  30,  until  the  ice  should 
break  and  clear  out  of  the  river  ;  then  he  continued  his  journey  down 
the  river  by  canoe.  On  May  2  he  passed  a  post  of  the  North-West 
Company,  which  he  calls  Fort  Vermilion,  though  it  was  considerably 
higher  up  the  river  than  the  present  Fort  Vermilion  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company.  Below  it  the  following  places  are  recorded  by  him  in 
succession  :  "  Old  Fort  du  Tremble  "  ;  "  Fort  Liard,  N.  W.  Co.,  Mr. 
Fraser  "  (not  far  from  the  site  of  the  present  Fort  Vermilion) ;  "Fort,  Mr. 
Wintzel,  N.  W.  Co."  (five  miles  below  the  lower  portion  of  Vermilion 
Falls)  ;  and  "  Grand  Marais,  N.  W.  Co.,  now  deserted."  On  May  12, 
in  company  with  a  trader  named  Wentzel,  he  arrived  at  Athabaska 
House,  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Athabaska,  in  latitude  58°  42'  50" 
N.,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Fort  Chipewyan.^  Here  he  remained 
for  three  days  ;  then  he  continued  his  survey  across  Lake  Athabaska 
and   up   Athabaska  river.      On   May   17  he  passed   Peter  Pond's  old 

^  This  post  must  not  be  confounded  with  Rocky  Mountain  House  on  the 
Saskatchewan  river,  which  was  Thompson's  home  for  so  many  winters. 

*  The  old  fort  which  had  been  built  by  Roderick  Mackenzie  in  1788,  where 
Philip  Turner  spent  the  winter  of  1791-92,  was  on  the  south  side  of  Lake 
Athabaska  in  latitude  58°  38'  N.,  longitude  1 10°  26i'  W.,  about  twenty-five  miles 
east  of  Fort  Chipewyan,  on  the  point  marked  Old  Fort  Point  on  J.  B.  Tyrrell's 
map  of  Lake  Athabaska.  It  was  from  this  post  that  Alexander  Mackenzie 
started,  in  1789  and  1792,  on  his  journeys  of  discovery  down  the  Mackenzie 
river  to  the  Arctic  ocean,  and  up  the  Peace  river  and  westward  to  the  Pacific 


Ixxxiv      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

trading  post  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  Pond,  the  first  white  trader 
who  had  ventured  so  far  west  and  north  as  this  river,  had  wintered  in 
1778—9  ;  and  on  May  19  he  reached  the  trading  post  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Clearwater  river.  From  here  he  proceeded  along  the  route  he 
had  already  surveyed,  up  Clearwater  river,  across  the  Methy  Portage, 
down  the  Churchill  river  to  Frog  Portage,  and  thence  by  Cumber- 
land House  to  Fort  William. 

After  a  short  stay  at  headquarters,  he  turned  back  toward  the  west. 
This  time  he  travelled  up  the  Kaministikwia  river  to  Dog  lake, 
through  this  lake,  and  up  the  Dog  river,  and  across  to  Lac  des  Mille 
Lacs,  where  the  North- West  Company  had  a  post  to  the  right  of  two 
islands  in  latitude  48°  48'  27"  N.,  and  thence  westward  to  Lake  La 
Croix  and  Rainy  lake,  and  thence  onward  by  the  usual  route  to 
Cumberland  House,  where  he  arrived  on  September  8. 

From  Cumberland  House  he  now  turned  aside  to  spend  the  winter 
on  his  old  trading  ground  in  what  he  calls  the  "  Muskrat  Country." 
On  September  10  he  struck  off  northward  through  Sturgeon,  Goose, 
and  Athapapuskow  lakes  to  Cranberry  Portage,  which  he  crossed  into 
Cranberry  lake.  At  the  narrows  in  this  lake  he  left  men  to  build  a 
trading  post.  He  himself  continued  on  to  Reed  lake,  ascended  Little 
Swan  river,  and  portaged  into  File  lake,  whence  he  descended  File 
river  into  Burntwood  lake,  and  continued  on  to  Missinipi  (Churchill) 
river,  down  which  he  travelled  for  a  short  distance  to  an  old  fort 
(Nelson  House),  which  he  reached  on  October  i.  After  making 
arrangements  to  provision  this  post,  he  continued  on  down  the  river, 
and  arrived  at  Musquawegan  (Bear's  Backbone)  Post  on  October  6, 
in  latitude  56°  13'  7"  N.,  longitude  100°  25'  50"  W.  The  exact  loca- 
tion of  this  post  has  never  been  determined,  except  as  it  is  shown  on 
Thompson's  map,  for  no  white  man  is  known  to  have  visited  this  place 
since  his  time.  Here  Thompson  remained  until  the  following  spring, 
with  his  old  schoolmate,  George  Charles,  opposing  him  in  the  interest 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

ocean.  When  Thompson  passed  it  in  1804,  it  seems  to  have  been  abandoned, 
as  the  North-West  Company  had  moved  the  post  over  to  the  present  site 
of  Fort  Chipewyan  at  the  west  end  of  the  lake  some  years  before.  The 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trading  post  at  this  lake  was  first  built  by  Peter 
Fidler  in  1802,  and  was  called  Nottingham  House,  after  the  North-Westers 
had  already  been  in  occupation  of  the  country  for  twenty-four  years.  Fidler 
occupied  the  post  until  1806,  when  he  abandoned  it,  as  he  had  had  no  success 
in  trading  with  the  Indians. 


ITINERARY   IN    N.-W.   AMERICA      Ixxxv 
1805 

On  May  27  and  28,  1805,  he  made  a  journey  to  the  post  at 
the  south  end  of  (South)  Indian  lake  and  Churchill  river,  which  he 
places  in  latitude  56°  48'  20"  N.  This  place  is  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  Fort  Churchill  on  Hudson  Bay,  and  is  the  most  north- 
easterly point  reached  by  Thompson  while  in  the  service  of  the  North- 
West  Company.  On  June  i  he  left  Musquawegan,  and  travelled 
upstream  to  the  Forks  of  the  Missinipi  (Churchill),  which  he  reached 
on  June  4,  and  thence  he  proceeded  by  Burntwood  Portage,  File  river, 
and  Cranberry  Portage  to  Cumberland  House,  where  he  arrived  on 
June  17.  Here  he  learned  for  the  first  time  that  the  North-West  and 
X  Y  Companies  had  united,  by  an  agreement  signed  on  November 
5,  1804.  He  left  Cumberland  House  on  June  23,  and  returned  to 
the  fort  on  Cranberry  lake,  where  he  arrived  on  June  27,  and  re- 
mained until  July  25.  On  this  date  he  set  out  for  Reindeer  lake. 
He  carried  over  the  Cranberry  portage,  passed  through  Athapapuskow 
lake  and  river,  crossed  Goose  lake,  and  descended  Goose  river  to 
Sturgeon-weir  river,  up  which  he  turned  to  Beaver  lake.  Thence  he 
followed  the  regular  route  to  Trade  (Frog)  Portage,  descended  the 
Churchill  river,  and  ascended  Reindeer  river  to  Reindeer  lake, 
where  he  arrived  on  August  4.  Here  he  left  Benjamin  Frobisher  to 
build  a  house  close  to  the  old  houses,  and  he  himself  returned  to 
Cumberland  House,  where  he  arrived  on  August  24.  On  August  12 
he  met  Peter  Fidler,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  going  to  Lake 
Athabaska,  but  for  some  reason  these  old  companions  passed  each  other 
without  speaking.  On  September  10  he  again  started  north  to  Cran- 
berry Portage,  and  thence  to  Reed  lake,  where  he  had  wintered  in 
1794-95,  while  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Here 
he  built  a  house  some  distance  east  of  the  old  one  which  he  had  occu- 
pied eleven  years  before,  and  remained  for  the  winter  quietly  trading 
furs  and  taking  astronomical  observations. 

After  Thompson  completed  his  surveys  of  this  "Muskrat  Country," 
no  further  information  was  obtained  about  it  for  nearly  a  century,  and 
when,  in  1896,  I  travelled  through  it,  the  only  map  of  any  service 
which  was  available  was  that  drawn  by  David  Thompson  in  181 3 
from  surveys  made  at  this  time. 


Ixxxvi     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

1806 

On  June  10,  1806,  he  left  this  post  in  the  Muskrat  country 
never  to  return  to  it,  and  returned  to  Cumberland  House,  where  he 
arrived  on  June  14.  Thence  he  proceeded  at  once  to  Fort  William. 
Here  he  received  instructions  to  attempt  once  more  to  open  trade 
relations  w^ith  the  Indians  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  he  at 
once  returned  by  way  of  Cumberland  House,  where  Harmon  met  him 
on  September  11,  to  his  old  home  at  Rocky  Mountain  House,  where 
he  arrived  on  October  29.  Here  he  remained  trading  with  the 
Indians  throughout  the  following  winter,  and  preparing  for  his  journey 
across  the  mountains  in  the  following  spring. 

1807 

On  May  10,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  family,  Thompson 
started  from  Rocky  Mountain  House  to  cross  the  mountains.  Finan 
McDonald  took  a  canoe  with  provisions  up  the  Saskatchewan  river, 
while  Thompson  himself  travelled  on  horseback  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river.  On  June  3  they  reached  Kootenay  Plain,  a  wide,  open  flat 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river  within  the  mountains,  in  latitude 
56°  2'  6"  N.  ;  and  on  June  6  they  reached  the  Forks.  They  then 
turned  up  the  south  branch  of  the  stream  ;  but  after  ascending  it  for 
three  miles  were  obliged  to  stop,  as  they  could  take  the  canoes  no 
further.  They  remained  here  till  June  25,  when  they  started  across 
the  mountains,  packing  all  their  supplies  with  them  on  horses.  At 
I  P.M.  on  June  25  they  reached  the  height  of  land  in  latitude 
51°  48'  27"  N.^  Thence  they  descended  along  the  banks  of  a  mountain 
torrent  (Blaeberry  river)  to  "Kootanie"  (Columbia)  river,  which  they 
reached  on  June  30,  in  latitude  51°  25'  \\'  N.,  longitude  116°  52'  45" 
W.,  a  mile  or  two  north-west  of  Moberly  station  on  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway.  Jaco  Finlay  had  been  across  the  mountains  to  this 
place  the  year  before,  and  had  built  a  canoe  and  left  it  in  what  he  sup- 

^  The  pass  by  which  Thompson  here  crossed  the  mountains  is  now  known 
as  Howse  Pass,  although  Joseph  Howse,  a  clerk  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
did  not  begin  to  use  the  pass  until  1809,  two  years  after  Thompson  had  made 
his  first  trip  over  it.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  pass  below  the  mouth  of 
Whirlpool  River  was  examined  by  Dr.  Hector  in  1859,  and  described  by  him 
in  The  Journals,  Detailed  Reports,  and  Observations  relative  to  the  Exploration 
by  Captain  Palliser,  London,  1863,  pp.  122-130. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA     Ixxxvii 

posed  to  be  a  safe  place  for  Thompson's  use  when  he  should  arrive, 
but  it  was  found  to  have  been  so  badly  broken  in  the  meantime  as  to 
be  now  utterly  useless.  He  camped  here,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Blaeberry,  and  the  members  of  the  party  for  several  days  devoted  them- 
selves to  repacking  their  stuff  and  building  canoes.  On  July  12,  having 
placed  all  the  trading  goods  in  canoes,  they  set  out  and  ascended  (not 
descended)  the  Columbia  river,  and  reached  Lower  Columbia  lake 
(now  Lake  Windermere)  on  July  18.  At  the  south  end  of  this  lake 
Thompson  began  to  build  in  latitude  50°  31'  24"  N. ;  but  finding  the 
place  unsuitable,  he  moved  on  July  29  down  the  river  to  about  a  mile 
from  the  lake,  and  built  "  Kootanae  House  "  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Columbia  river,  in  latitude  50°  32'  i^"  N.,  longitude  115°  51'  40"  W., 
variation  24^°  East.  Here  he  remained  for  the  rest  of  the  year,  trading 
with  the  Kutenai  Indians,  and  taking  meteorological  and  astronomical 
observations.  With  the  chief  of  the  Flatbow  Indians  for  a  guide  he 
made  a  trip  for  a  few  days  down  the  banks  of  the  Kootenay  river. 
He  also  carefully  measured  the  heights  of  some  of  the  neighbouring 
mountains,  from  a  measured  base  of  6,920  feet.  Mount  Nelson,  to 
the  west  of  the  fort,  he  found  to  be  7,223  feet  above  the  surface  of 
the  lake,  which  would  give  it  a  height  of  9,900  feet  above  the  sea — a 
height  100  feet  lower  than  that  given  on  Dr.  Dawson's  map  of  1885. 

1808 

On  April  20,  1808,  Thompson  set  out  with  canoes  toward  the 
south,  and  the  next  day  reached  the  portage  to  the  "  Flat  Bow  "  or 
"  McGillivray's "  (Kootenay)  river,  which  he  calls  "  McGillivray's 
Portage."  From  here  he  descended  the  "  Flat  Bow "  (Kootenay) 
river  in  a  canoe,  making  a  careful  survey  with  a  compass,  checked 
by  latitudes.  On  April  24  he  passed  the  mouth  of  the  "Torrent" 
(St.  Mary's)  river,  and  on  April  27  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
"  Fine  Meadow "  (Tobacco)  river  in  Montana.  On  May  6  he 
reached  the  Kootenay  Falls,  and  portaged  past  them,  and  two  days 
later  he  reached  a  camp  of  Flatheads  and  Kutenai  in  latitude 
48°  42'  52"  N.,  longitude  116°  W.,  at  or  near  Bonner's  Ferry  in  Idaho. 
Having  induced  these  Indians  to  promise  to  trade  with  him,  he  again 
set  off  on  May  13,  and  on  the  next  day  reached  Flat  Bow  or 
Kootenay  lake  at  Kootenay  Landing.  From  here  he  returned  up 
the  river  to  the  camp  of  the  Flatheads,  whence  he  took  horses  and 
travelled  in  a  north-easterly  direction  up  "  McDonald's  "  (Moyie,  or 


Ixxxviii     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Choecoos,  or  Grand  Quete)  river  along  the  line  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  ;  and  on  May  i8  he  reached  McGillivray's  (Kootenay) 
river,  about  Fort  Steele.  He  crossed  the  river,  followed  up  the  bank 
across  Wild  Horse  Creek  and  "  Lussier "  (Sheep)  river,  and  reached 
Kootanae  House  on  June  5.  From  here,  taking  his  family  with  him,  he 
continued  northward  down  the  Columbia  to  the  mouth  of  the  Blae- 
berry river,  from  which  place  he  crossed  the  mountains  with  the  furs 
obtained  during  the  year,  and  reached  Kootenay  Plain  on  June  22. 
On  this  journey  he  and  his  party  were  obliged  to  kill  and  eat  several 
of  their  horses,  as  they  were  unable  to  obtain  other  provisions. 

At  Kootenay  Plain,  Thompson  embarked  in  a  canoe,  and  descended 
the  Saskatchewan.  At  Boggy  Hall,  he  left  his  family ;  but  he  himself 
continued  down  the  river  as  fast  as  possible,  and  on  to  Rainy  lake. 
On  his  way  he  notes  some  places  of  interest  in  his  note-books.  The 
first  is  Muskako  Fort,  four  and  a  half  hours  below  Wolf  Brook, 
doubtless  at  the  bend  in  the  river  in  Tp.  30,  R.  6,  west  of  the  Fifth 
Meridian,  where  "North-West  Company"  is  marked  on  his  large 
map.  "Old  Island  Fort,"  three  hours  and  a  half  above  Fort  George, 
is  the  "Isle  of  Scotland"  of  his  journey  of  1800.  Fort  George  was 
probably  unoccupied  at  that  time,  having  been  abandoned  in  favour  of 
Fort  Vermilion,^  to  which  place  the  headquarters  of  the  district  had 
been  removed.  Two  days  were  spent  at  Fort  Vermilion  ;  then  on 
July  3  the  journey  was  resumed.  On  July  4,  Thompson  passed 
"burnt  Fort  de  I'lsle,"  his  Island  House  of  1800;  "the  Crossing 
Place,"  probably  near  Fort  Carlton  ;  "  Fort  de  Milieu,"  probably  the 
same  as  his  Upper  Hudson  House  of  1794.  Three  hours  and  a  half 
after  passing  the  Forks,  he  reached  Fort  St.  Louis,  near  the  site  of  the 
present  Fort  a  la  Corne.  Three-quarters  of  an  hour  later  he  passed 
the  site  of  Fort  a  la  Corne,  about  four  miles  down  the  river,  at  the 
extreme  north-east  corner  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  reserve, 
on  the  site   of   the   old  French   Fort    des  Prairies,^      On  August  2, 

^  Fort  Vermilion  was  situated,  says  Alexander  Henry  the  younger,  in 
latitude  53"  51'  7"  N.,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Saskatchewan  river,  "in  a  long 
flat  bottom  of  meadow  directly  opposite  the  Vermilion  River."  This  post  was 
occupied  by  Alexander  Henry  the  younger  from  1808  to  1810,  when  it  was 
abandoned  in  favour  of  White  Earth  Fort.  But  before  long  it  was  again 
occupied,  for  in  1814  Gabriel  Franch^re  "found  at  this  post  some  ninety 
persons,  men,  women,  and  children  "  (Franch^re's  Narratii/e,  p.  319). 

*  There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  confusion  as  to  the  position  of  these  two 
posts,  arising  doubtless  from  the  interchange  of  names.  The  exact  position 
of  Fort  St.  Louis  of  the  North-West  Company,  which  Alexander  Henry  states 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA     Ixxxix 

Thompson  reached  his  destination  at  Rainy  Lake  House  ;  and  two  days 
later  he  set  out  on  his  return  journey  westward.  On  August  i8, 
about  Wicked  Point,  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  he  was 
joined  by  Alexander  Henry,  with  canoes  from  Red  River  on  the  way 
to  Fort  Vermilion.  The  two  parties  reached  Cumberland  House 
on  August  26  ;  and  on  September  13  and  14  they  reached  Fort 
Vermilion,  Henry  a  day  in  advance  of  Thompson.  On  September  16, 
Thompson's  canoes  left  for  up  the  river ;  while  he  himself  left 
the  next  day  on  horseback,  and  arrived  on  September  23  at  Fort 
Augustus.  On  October  3  he  arrived  at  Boggy  Hall,  where  he 
probably  rejoined  his  family.  Here,  sending  on  the  canoes,  he  took 
men  and  horses,  and  set  out  for  the  height  of  land.  On  October  9 
he  passed  old  Rocky  Mountain  House,  and  continued  on  up  the  river 
until  October  17,  when  sharp  frosts  prevented  the  canoes  being 
brought  any  further.  Having  therefore  camped  for  a  few  days  to 
rearrange  the  packs,  he  set  out  with  the  pack-horses  on  October  22, 
passed  the  Kootenay  Plain  on  the  24th,  and  crossed  the  height  of  land 
on  the  27th.  On  October  31  he  once  more  reached  the  Columbia 
river.  From  here  he  sent  the  horses  southward  through  the  woods, 
while  he  ascended  the  river  in  a  boat  as  far  as  a  hoard  that  had  been 
built  beside  the  river  the  year  before,  in  latitude  50"  53'  34"  N.,  apparently 
not  far  from  the  mouth  of  Spillimacheen  river.  From  here  he  sent 
Finan  McDonald  southward  with  the  canoes,  to  establish  a  fort  and 

was  abandoned  in  1805,  is  not  quite  certain,  but  it  was  probably  close  to  the 
present  store  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  old  French  fort  was  at  a 
bend  several  miles  farther  down  the  river,  about  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  reserve.  In  1896,  the  old  trails  and  marks  where  the  stockades 
had  been  were  distinctly  traceable.  The  fort  would  appear  to  have  been  built 
first  by  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre  in  1753  ;  and  it  was  occupied  by  six  men  when 
visited  by  Anthony  Hendry  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  May,  1755.  I" 
August,  1772,  the  place  was  visited  by  Mathew  Cocking,  another  employee  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  it  was  then  found  to  be  occupied  by  an  Indian  camp. 
But  in  the  winter  of  1776,  when  the  place  was  visited  by  Alexander  Henry  the 
elder,  it  was  in  charge  of  James  Finlay,  who  had  a  fort  with  an  area  of  about 
an  acre  enclosed  in  a  stockade,  and  from  fifty  to  eighty  men  for  its  defence. 
After  the  abandonment  of  Fort  St.  Louis  by  the  North-West  Company  in  1805, 
the  location  seems  to  have  been  unoccupied  until  about  1846,  when  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  rebuilt  on  the  site  of  the  old  French  fort.  In  1887,  when  in  charge 
of  Philip  Turner,  the  grandson  of  either  Philip  or  John  Turnor,  it  was  moved 
three  miles  up  the  river  to  its  present  position.  Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  in  his  New 
Light  on  the  Earlier  History  of  the  Greater  Northwest^  New  York,  1897,  puts 
the  positions  of  both  these  posts  too  far  up  the  river. 


xc       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

winter  at  the  falls  on  the  Kootenay  river  ;  while  he  himself  went 
on  horseback  to  the  old  Kootanae  House,  where  he  arrived  on 
November  lO,  and  where  he  spent  the  winter  trading  with  the 
Kutenai  Indians.  James  McMillan  was  his  assistant,  and  Jaco  Finlay 
was  hunting  in  the  vicinity. 

1809 

After  the  winter's  trade  at  Kootanae  House  was  finished,  on 
April  17,  1809,  Thompson  removed  a  short  distance  down  the  river, 
and  camped  till  the  27th.  He  then  descended  the  Columbia  river  in 
a  canoe,  the  horses  being  at  the  same  time  driven  through  the  woods 
to  the  Mountain  Portage,  and  crossed  the  mountains  to  the  Saskat- 
chewan. At  the  Kootenay  Plain,  at  which  he  arrived  on  June  18, 
a  canoe  was  built,  and  loaded  with  some  of  the  furs  which  he  had 
obtained  during  the  winter.  In  it  he  descended  the  river  to  Fort 
Augustus,^  where  he  arrived  on  June  24,  and  was  welcomed  by  his 
old  friend  James  Hughes.  On  June  27,  two  canoes  were  sent  east- 
ward with  his  furs,  but  he  himself  remained  at  the  fort  until  July  18. 
On  this  date,  having  sent  canoes  up  the  Saskatchewan  four  days 
before  him,  he  set  off  on  horseback  towards  the  mountains.  Near 
the  mouth  of  Wolf  Creek,  he  caught  up  to  and  joined  the  canoes, 
and  sent  back  the  horses  as  they  had  come.  Travelling  up  the  river, 
he  reached  Kootenay  Plain  on  August  3.  Here  he  remained  for  a 
few  days,  arranging  the  packs  for  the  journey  across  the  mountains, 
and  on  August  8  he  started  westward  on  horseback.  Next  day  he 
met  Joseph  Howse,  a  clerk  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  had 
left  Fort  Edmonton  on  July  18  on  an  exploring  trip,  returning  again 
to  the  east.  On  August  1 1  he  crossed  the  height  of  land,  and  two 
days  later  he  reached  the  Columbia.  He  ascended  this  river  as  far  as 
McGillivray's  Portage,  which  he  reached  on  August  20  ;  then  he 
descended  the  Kootenay  river,  and  on  August  29  he  reached  the 
Great  Road  of  the  Flatheads,  where  he  had  come  to  the  large  camp 
of  these  Indians  in  the  spring  of  1808,  near  Bonner's  Ferry. 

Having  obtained  horses  from  the  Indians,  he  set  out  toward  the 
south  on  September  6,  and  reached  Pend  d'Oreille  lake  on  September  8  ; 
and   the  next  day   he  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Clark's  Fork,  where 

^  This  was  new  Fort  Augustus  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Edmonton. 
The  old  fort  twenty  miles  farther  down  the  river  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
Blackfeet  in  1807. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA        xci 

it  empties  into  the  lake.  Here  he  found  a  large  camp  of  Flatheads  and 
other  Indians.  On  September  lO  he  found  a  spot  on  a  peninsula  on 
the  east  side  of  this  lake,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  in 
latitude  48°  1 1'  30"  N.,  where  he  built  a  house,  which  he  called  Kullyspell 
House.  Here  he  remained  for  about  two  weeks,  to  see  that  building 
operations  were  being  pushed  on  as  rapidly  as  possible.  On  Septem- 
ber 27  he  rode  around  the  north  side  of  the  lake,  and  down  the  river 
flowing  from  it  to  latitude  48°  51'  N.,  and  returned  on  October  6.  On 
October  1 1  he  set  off  again  on  horseback,  and  travelled  about  sixty 
miles  in  a  south-easterly  direction  up  the  Saleesh  river,  called  on  his 
map  the  Nemissoolatakoo  river  (Clark's  Fork).  Turning  aside  from 
this  river  near  Thompson's  Prairie,  he  travelled  first  north-east  and 
then  north-west,  till  he  reached  the  Kootenay  river  above  the  falls, 
where  he  met  his  clerk,  McMillan,  bringing  the  canoes  loaded  with 
trading  goods  that  had  been  left  behind  him  on  the  Columbia  river. 
Here,  sending  the  horses  ahead  of  him,  he  embarked  in  one  of  the 
canoes,  descended  to  the  Flathead  Road,  crossed  over  to  Pend  d'Oreille 
lake,  and  arrived  at  Kullyspell  House  on  October  30. 

On  November  2  he  set  off  again  on  horseback  up  the  river,  and 
a  week  later  reached  a  point  in  latitude  47°  34'  35"  N.,  near  the  present 
station  of  Woodlin  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  where  he  built 
a  house  which  he  called  Saleesh  House.  The  position  of  this  house 
is  well  described  on  page  418. 

1810 

In  the  spring  of  1 810  he  made  several  expeditions  in  the  vicinity 
of  Saleesh  House.  On  February  23  he  started  out  on  horseback  with 
Mousseau,  Lussier,  Boulard,  and  two  Indians  to  look  for  birch  bark  for 
canoes.  They  travelled  up  the  river  for  fifty  miles,  examining  the 
woods  closely  as  they  went,  until  they  reached  the  great  camp  of  the 
Salish  Indians,  which  was  situated  on  the  Flathead  river,  twenty 
miles  above  its  mouth,  in  latitude  47"  21'  14.''  N.,  and  arrived  back  at 
Saleesh  House  on  March  6.  From  March  8  to  March  14  he  made 
another  journey  to  the  Salish  camp,  and  in  this  case  he  returned 
down  the  river  in  a  canoe  which  he  had  had  built  at  the  camp.  And 
from  March  17  to  March  25  he  made  a  third  journey  to  the  same 
camp,  returning  in  this  case  also  down  the  river  in  a  canoe,  while  his 
horses  were  sent  in  loaded  with  furs.  On  both  trips  down  the  river  he 
made  a  careful  survey  of  it. 


xcii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

After  his  return  he  engaged  Jaco  Finlay  in  his  old  capacity  as  clerk 
and  interpreter. 

On  April  6  he  sent  off  Mousseau,  Beaulieu,  and  several  others  with 
ten  packs  of  furs  to  Pend  d'Oreille  lake. 

On  April  19  he  left  Saleesh  House  and  embarked  in  canoes  down 
the  Saleesh  river,  and  on  the  evening  of  Saturday  the  2ist  he  arrived 
at  Kullyspell  House,  where  Finan  McDonald  had  spent  the  winter. 
Before  leaving  he  sent  McDonald  up  to  Saleesh  House  to  spend  the 
summer. 

While  at  Kullyspell  House  he  decided  to  make  a  further  investiga- 
tion of  the  Pend  d'Oreille  river  down  to  its  junction  with  the 
Columbia,  in  order  to  determine  definitely  whether  it  and  the  Columbia 
could  be  used  as  a  trade  route  to  the  east  or  not.  Accordingly,  on 
April  24  he  embarked  in  a  canoe,  crossed  the  lake  and  descended  the 
river  to  latitude  48°  51'  N.,  twenty- two  miles  from  its  mouth,  but  as  it 
proved  to  be  quite  unnavigable  he  decided  to  return  eastward  up  the 
Kootenay  river  as  before.  Returning  he  reached  Kullyspell  House  on 
May  I. 

On  May  9  he  left  Kullyspell  House  for  the  Kootenay  river,  and  on 
the  17th,  accompanied  by  McMillan,  he  started  up  that  river  with  his 
brigade  of  canoes.  He  reached  McGillivray's  Portage  on  June  6,  and 
thence  descended  the  Columbia  as  far  as  Mountain  Portage,  where  he 
arrived  on  June  16.  He  then  crossed  to  the  Saskatchewan,  and  arrived 
at  the  Forks  in  the  mountains  on  June  19,  having  left  the  men  to 
follow  him  with  the  pack-horses.  Here  he  embarked  in  a  canoe,  and 
proceeded  down  stream.  On  his  way  he  passed  the  ruins  of  old  Fort 
Augustus ;  and  on  the  next  day  he  reached  White  Earth  House,^ 
where  Alexander  Henry  was  in  charge  for  the  North-West  Company, 
and  a  trader  named  Henry  Hallett  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
This  house  appears  to  have  been  at  the  mouth  of  White  Earth  river, 
a  short  distance  below  the  present  site  of  Victoria.  On  July  4  he 
reached  Cumberland  House,  and  on  July  22  Rainy  Lake  House. 

After  loading  four  canoes  with  goods  to  trade,  he  again  turned 
westward,  and  on  September  6  reached  White  Earth  House  on  the 
Saskatchewan.  On  September  ii,  having  sent  his  four  canoes  on 
ahead  of  him,  he  started  on  horseback  for  Fort  Augustus,  where  he  seems 
to  have  left  his  family  for  the  winter.     Thence  he  rode  up  the  valley  of 

1  According  to  Henry,  Thompson  had  his  family  with  him  when  he  passed 
this  house. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA       xciii 

the  Saskatchewan  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  but  as  his  canoes  had 
been  intercepted  and  turned  back  by  the  Piegan,  he  was  obliged  to 
return  down  the  river,  and  find  a  new  trail  to  the  Columbia  river 
by  Athabaska  Pass  at  the  head-waters  of  the  Athabaska  river. 

Collecting  his  men,  horses,  and  supplies  at  a  point  on  the  banks  of 
the  Saskatchewan  river  about  sixty  miles  below  Rocky  Mountain 
House,  where  the  North-West  Company  had  had  a  trading  post  for  a 
couple  of  years,  which  they  named  Boggy  Hall,  he  started  westward 
through  the  woods  on  an  old  footpath  that  had  been  used  by  the 
Assiniboin  Indians  when  going  to  their  hunting  grounds.  Taking  a 
north-westerly  course  he  reached  the  Athabaska  river  at  the  mouth  of 
a  brook  in  about  latitude  53°  38'  N.,  a  few  miles  below  where  the 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway  now  reaches  it.  The  next  day  he 
crossed  the  river  and  continued  up  along  its  bank  to  Brule  lake,  to 
an  island  on  which  was  a  deserted  cabin  previously  built  by  some  half- 
breed  or  Indian  hunters.  As  there  was  no  food  here  for  his  horses, 
he  moved  northward  for  five  miles  to  a  more  favourable  spot  where 
he  camped  and  made  snow-shoes  and  sleds  for  his  journey  across  the 
mountains. 

On  December  29  he  set  out  with  sleds  and  dogs,  and  also  with  four 
horses  to  help  them  for  a  short  distance. 

1811 

On  January  6  he  left  the  four  horses  somewhere  about  the  mouth 
of  the  Miette  river,  near  where  Yellowhead  Pass  turns  off  to  the 
west.  He  then  crossed  the  height  of  land  by  Athabaska  Pass 
which  was  afterwards  used  for  many  years  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  as  their  main  line  of  travel  from  the  Great  Plains  to  the 
valley  of  the  Columbia  river.  Thence  he  descended  Wood  river 
to  the  Columbia  at  the  month  of  Canoe  river.  He  reached  it  on 
January  18,  and  continued  up  the  Columbia,  hauling  the  sleds,  for 
twelve  miles.  Here  some  of  his  men  mutinied,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
return  to  the  Canoe  river,  where  he  remained  for  the  winter. 

Having  constructed  a  clinker-built  canoe  of  cedar  boards  hewn  from 
trees  in  the  surrounding  forest,  and  sewed  after  the  manner  of  a  birch 
canoe,  as  he  had  no  nails  with  which  to  fasten  it,  he  embarked  on  the 
Columbia  river  on  April  17. 

Instead  of  descending,  he  ascended  the  river,  which  was  new  to  him 
as  far  as  Blaeberry  Creek,  overcoming   natural  obstacles  as   he   met 


xciv      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

them,  and  on  May  14  he  reached  McGillivray's  Portage  at  the  head 
of  Upper  Columbia  lake.  Thence  he  descended  the  Kootenay 
river  to  its  south-eastern  bend,  and  having  here  obtained  horses, 
crossed  to  Saleesh  House  on  Clark's  Fork,  in  Montana.  Having  built 
a  canoe,  he  descended  Clark's  Fork,  passed  through  Pend  d'Oreille 
lake,  and  continued  down  the  river  to  the  site  of  the  present  town 
of  Cusick  in  Washington.  From  here  he  travelled,  with  the  aid  of 
thirteen  horses,  to  Spokane  House,  ten  miles  north-west  of  the 
present  city  of  Spokane,  where  Finan  McDonald  was  living  at  the 
time.  This  trading  post  is  stated  by  Thompson  to  have  been  situated 
on  the  east  bank  of  Spokane  river,  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  Little 
Spokane  river.  From  Spokane  House  a  ride  of  three  days  brought 
him  to  Ilthkoyape  (Kettle)  Falls  on  the  Columbia  river.  After  some 
difficulty  in  obtaining  cedar  boards  with  which  to  build  a  canoe,  he  set 
out  down  the  river  on  July  3,  and  on  July  15,  at  i  p.m.,  he  landed  at 
Fort  Astoria,  the  newly  built  trading  post  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river. 

After  spending  a  few  days  with  McDougall,  the  trader  in  charge 
at  Astoria,  Thompson  started  back  up  the  Columbia.  On  July  28 
he  reached  the  Cascades,  which  he  had  difficulty  in  passing  on  account 
of  the  hostility  of  the  Indians.  On  August  5  he  reached  the  mouth 
of  Shawpatin  (Snake)  river,  up  which  he  struggled  with  the  canoe 
for  "  56  "  miles  till,  on  August  8,  he  reached  the  southern  end  of  tne 
road  leading  to  the  Spokane  river,  in  latitude  46°  36'  13"  N.  Here  he 
laid  up  the  canoe,  and  rode  overland  to  Spokane  House.  Thence  he 
rode  to  Ilthkoyape  Falls,  and,  having  built  a  canoe  there,  ascended  the 
Columbia  river  to  Canoe  river,  thus  completing  the  survey  of  the 
whole  river  from  its  source  to  its  mouth. 

As  there  is  lacking  in  Thompson's  manuscript  a  description  of  his 
voyage  up  this  part  of  the  Columbia,  and  as  it  is  important  to  complete 
his  record  of  the  survey  of  the  river,  the  following  diary  has  been  com- 
piled from  Thompson's  note-books  : 

September  2. — Thompson's  party  left  Ilthkoyape  Falls  at  i  P.M., 
accompanied  by  eight  canoes  of  Indians,  and  paddled  upstream  against 
a  strong  current  until  5.20  p.m.,  when  they  put  up  for  the  night. 

September  3. — The  party  embarked  at  5.30  a.m.  Shortly  before 
noon  they  reached,  in  latitude  48°  52'  N.,  a  portage  on  the  east  bank 
1,100  yards  long.  All  afternoon  they  paddled  against  a  strong  current, 
and  at  night  they  camped  five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Pend  d'Oreille 
river. 


ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.   AMERICA        xcv 

September  4. — They  embarked  at  5.50  a.m.,  and  ascended  a  swift 
current  all  day.  They  crossed  the  international  boundary  line,  passed 
the  mouth  of  Pend  d'Oreille  river  and  the  site  of  the  present  town  of 
Trail,  and  at  6,10  p.m.  pitched  camp  at  the  mouth  of  Murphy  Creek. 
On  the  right  the  country  was  becoming  rapidly  more  rocky. 

September  5. — They  embarked  at  5.50  A.M.,  and  about  noon  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Kootenay  river.  Here  the  Indians  who  had  been 
accompanying  them,  left  them.  They  camped  for  the  night  near  the 
site  of  the  town  of  Castlegar. 

September  6. — They  set  off  at  5.40  a.m.,  and  travelled  up  the  river 
till  3.15  p.m.,  when  they  camped  for  the  night  near  the  site  of  the 
present  village  of  Deer  Park.  The  hills  now  came  down  close  to  the 
river,  those  to  the  west  being  thickly  covered  with  forest,  but  those  to 
the  east  being  rather  bare  and  rocky.  Tracks  of  reindeer  and  the 
black-tailed  chevreuil  were  plentiful,  but  they  hunted  without  success. 

September  7. — They  set  off  at  6  a.m.,  and  travelled  northward  over 
Lower  Arrow  lake  against  a  head  wind  and  high  waves,  and  camped 
at  6.30  P.M.  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  in  latitude  49°  44'  N.,  about 
three  miles  south  of  Edgewood. 

September  8. — They  set  off  at  5.38  A.M.,  passed  through  the  Lower 
Arrow  lake,  and  camped  on  the  bank  of  the  river  between  the  two 
Arrow  lakes,  about  the  mouth  of  Mosquito  Creek.  "The  lake  we 
have  passed  has  always  current  in  the  middle  and  very  often  from  side 
to  side.  The  last  half  has  a  ledge  of  low  wood  and  land  with  fine 
shore  on  both  sides  ;  the  middle  steep,  ugly  rocks  ;  and  the  lower  end 
rocks  and  good  shore  by  turns." 

September  9. — They  set  off  at  5.40  a.m.,  and  soon  entered  Upper 
Arrow  lake.  Through  this  lake  they  pushed  on  northward,  and 
camped  somewhere  near  the  site  of  the  hotel  at  Halcyon  Hot  Springs. 

September  10. — They  set  off  at  5.15  a.m.,  and  early  in  the  day 
reached  Arrowhead  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake.  Here  they  entered 
the  river,  and,  encountering  a  heavy  current,  were  often  obliged  to 
pole  their  canoe,  or  haul  it  against  the  stream  with  a  line.  Though 
much  delayed  by  rain,  they  travelled  till  6  p.m. 

September  11. — They  embarked  at  5.35  a.m.,  and  ascended  the 
stream  until  5  p.m.,  when  they  camped  in  latitude  51°  2'  13"  N.  at  the 
place  to  which  Finan  McDonald  had  ascended  the  river  in  a  canoe  a 
icv/  weeks  before.  This  was  about  two  miles  above  the  present  town 
of  Revelstoke,  and  one  mile  below  the  Little  Dalles. 

September  12. — They  set  off  at  6  A.M.,  and  ascended  the  stream 
until  5.15  P.M.,  when  they  camped  for  the  night  in  latitude  51°  11'  N. 
"  From  early  morning  the  Dalles  very  bad,  all  the  rest  is  very  strong 
current  and  rapids.     Came  up  with  the  line." 

September  13. — They  set  off  at  6.45  a.m.,  and  camped  at  5.30  P.M. 
in  latitude  51°  22'  30"  N.    , 


xcvi     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

j.1^  September  14. — They  set  off  at  7.15  a.m.  At  noon  they  were  in 
^\^''  latitude  51°  30'  N.,  two  miles  below  the  Dalles  des  Morts.  In  the 
oV^^^'"  afternoon  they  ascended  the  Dalles  des  Morts,  which  were  destined 
-^  to  be  the  graveyard  of  the  Columbia  river  in  the  early  days  of  the 

western  fur-trade ;  and  the  following  is  Thompson's  survey  and  de- 
scription of  these  rapids  :  "  N.  78  W.  \  [mile]  N.  50  W.  1/8,  N.  36  W. 
2/3,  W.  1/8,  N.  35  W.  J,  all  bad,  N.  50  W.  1/8,  N.  36  W.  2/3. 
Strong  rapid  current,  lined  on  the  left,  good  to  run,  W.  1/8  strong 
rapid,  discharged  all  the  heavy  pieces  and  for  250  yards  carried,  lined 
up  the  canoe  on  the  left,  having  crossed — N.  30  W.  |  m.  Beginning 
of  Co.  A  fall  and  rush  of  water.  Discharged  all  for  150  yds.  and 
lined  up,  quite  light,  very  dangerous  to  line  down.  The  rest  of  Co. 
strong  Rapid  Current.  Lined  the  whole  up  loaded.  On  the  right 
end  of  Course  a  large  rock  between  which  and  the  shore  lined  and 
handed.  Here  the  canoes  going  down  ought  to  bring  up  N.  40  W.  f, 
N.  10  E.  1/6,  Strong  Rapid,  Course  N.  30  W.  \,  N.  45  W.  |,  N.  35 
W.  i,  N.  50  W.  i,  N.  60  W.  \,  N.  50  W.  1.  Crossed  over  in  middle 
of  Course  and  camped  at  5.50  p.m.  Sight  a  large  bold  mountain  on 
the  right.  Still  much  snow  on  them.  The  river  is  very  strong 
Current.  I  suppose  loaded  canoes  must  line  down  much  of  the 
Dalles." 

September  15. — They  set  off  at  5,15  A.M.,  and  ascended  a  rapid 
current,  with  dangerous  rocky  points  all  day.  They  camped  for  the 
night  on  the  bank  of  the  stream  in  latitude  51''  45'  N. 

September  16. — They  set  off  at  10  A.M.,  and  first  ascended  a  long 
strong  rapid,  after  which  the  current  became  more  moderate. 

September  17. — They  set  off  at  6.30  A.M.,  and  travelled  till  6.30  P.M. 
up  a  constant  rapid  stream  to  camp  in  latitude  52°  31'  N. 

September  18. — They  embarked  at  7.15  A.M.,  and  about  noon 
reached  Thompson's  old  hut  at  the  mouth  of  the  Canoe  river.  They 
had  hoped  to  find  some  of  their  associates  of  the  North-West  Com- 
pany from  across  the  mountains  waiting  for  them  here  with  trading 
supplies,  but  in  this  they  were  disappointed.  Leaving  behind  them  a 
message  written  in  the  Iroquois  language,  they  set  off  up  the  Canoe 
river,  which  was  the  route  they  expected  their  friends  to  use  in  coming 
from  the  Athabaska  river. 

Thompson  ascended  Canoe  river  for  forty-eight  miles,  then  returned 
to  its  mouth.  Part  of  the  trading  goods  for  the  next  year  having  been 
brought  across  the  mountains,  he  sent  them  down  the  river  to  Ilthkoy- 
ape  Falls ;  while  he  himself  crossed  the  mountains  to  Henry's  House, 
and  returned  with  the  rest  of  the  goods  to  the  falls.  Thence  he 
walked  to  Spokane  House,  where  he  obtained  horses,  and  returned  to 
the  Columbia  for  the  goods  left  at  the  canoe. 


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ITINERARY   IN   N.-W.  AMERICA      xcvii 

He  then  rode  southward  to  Spokane  House,  up  the  Spokane  river 
for  twenty-five  miles  above  the  house,  and  northward  to  Pend  d'Oreille 
river  at  a  point  twelve  miles  below  Pend  d'Oreille  lake,  after  which 
he  followed  the  trail  along  the  north  bank  of  this  river  upwards  to 
Salcesh  House,  where  he  arrived  on  November  19.  It  seems  to  have 
been  deserted,  though  Finan  McDonald  was  trading  with  the  Indians 
in  the  vicinity.  After  rebuilding  the  house,  he  made  a  trip  on  horse- 
back up  the  south  branch  for  thirty  miles,  but  finding  no  place  more 
suitable  for  a  trading  post  than  the  one  he  was  occupying,  he  returned. 

1812 

On  February  15  he  left  Saleesh  House  with  Finan  McDonald, 
Michel,  and  ten  men  in  two  canoes  to  go  to  the  Salish  Indians  to 
trade  provisions.  They  went  up  to  the  Salish  camp  which  was  then 
pitched  on  Flathead  river,  four  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Jocko  Creek. 
From  here,  on  February  25,  26,  and  27,  he  rode  up  the  bank  of  Flat- 
head river  to  Jocko  Creek,  up  that  creek,  and  over  a  defile  to  the 
summit  of  what  is  now  known  as  Jumbo  Hill  in  the  city  of  Missoula, 
Montana,  near  the  banks  of  Hell  Gate  river,  which  he  called  "  Courier's 
Branch."  Here  he  spent  several  hours  making  a  sketch  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  and  tracing  out  the  route  by  which  Lewis  and  Clark  had 
travelled  through  it,  after  which  he  returned  as  quickly  as  possible 
to  the  Salish  camp.  On  March  i  he  rode  northward  from  the  Salish 
camp  as  far  as  the  south  end  of  Flathead  lake,  and  returned  to  camp 
the  same  day.  The  next  day  he,  with  his  whole  party,  started  back 
for  Saleesh  House,  where  letters  had  just  arrived  from  John  McDonald 
of  Garth,  who  was  spending  the  winter  at  Kootanae  House. 

On  March  13  he  left  Saleesh  House,  and  embarking  in  his  canoe 
started  on  his  voyage  to  the  east  Four  days  later  he  encamped  at  the 
north  end  of  the  Skeetshoo  road  where  he  had  reached  the  river  in  the 
previous  autumn.  After  a  delay  of  four  days  McTavish  met  him  with 
horses  and  men,  and  took  him  south  to  Spokane  House.  Pushing  on 
from  there  he  reached  a  place  eight  miles  east  of  Ilthkoyape  Falls  where 
he  found  cedar  and  some  birch  bark  suitable  for  building  canoes. 
Here  he  stayed  hard  at  work  building  canoes  from  March  31  to  April  21, 
on  which  latter  date  McTavish  and  McMillan  arrived  with  all  the  furs 
from  Spokane  House. 

All  was  now  ready,  and  on  April  22  he  bade  good-bye  to  Ilthkoyape 
Falls  and,  accompanied  by  McTavish,  started  with  his  brigade  of  six 


xcviii      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

canoes  for  Fort  William.  He  reached  the  mouth  of  Canoe  river  on 
May  5.  On  May  6  he  set  out  on  foot  from  the  Boat  Encampment  at 
the  mouth  of  Canoe  river  on  the  journey  which  vv^as  to  take  him  back 
at  last  to  civilization.  Travelling  eastward  by  Athabaska  Pass,  he 
crossed  the  height  of  land  on  May  8,  and  on  May  1 1  reached  the 
house  of  William  Henry  on  the  Athabaska  river,  in  latitude  52°  55'  16" 
N.  On  May  13  he  started  down  the  river  in  a  canoe.  On  May  20  he 
reached  the  mouth  of  Lesser  Slave  river,  up  which  he  pushed  to  the 
house  at  its  head  ;  having  returned  thence,  he  continued  down  the 
Athabaska  to  the  Red  Deer  or  La  Biche  river,  which  he  reached  on 
May  25.  He  turned  up  this  stream,  and  reached  Red  Deer  lake,  or 
Lake  La  Biche,  on  May  27.  Having  crossed  the  portage  from  this 
lake,  he  descended  the  Beaver  river  to  Isle  a  la  Crosse,  and  continuing 
down  Churchill  river,  reached  Cumberland  House  on  June  18. 
Thence  he  continued  eastward  along  the  ordinary  trade  route  through 
Lake  Winnipeg  and  up  the  Winnipeg  and  Rainy  rivers  to  Lake 
Superior.  On  August  12  he  left  Fort  William,  the  western  head- 
quarters of  the  North- West  Company,  and  continuing  eastward,  re- 
surveyed  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior  as  far  as  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
which  he  reached  on  August  24.  Thence  he  continued  along  the 
north  shore  of  Lake  Huron,  up  the  French  river  and  down  the  Ottawa 
river,  and  arrived  at  Terrebonne,  north  of  Montreal.  Here  he  took 
up  his  residence  ;  and  although  in  the  course  of  his  survey  of  the 
boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada  he  travelled  as 
far  west  as  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  he  never  returned  to  his  old  fields 
of  labour  in  the  far  West,  or  revisited  any  of  his  early  homes  on  the 
banks  of  the  Saskatchewan  or  Columbia  rivers. 


PART    I 


DAVID    THOMPSON'S 
NARRATIVE 

CHAPTER    I 

JOIN   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY 

Leave  London  on  HudsorCs  Bay  Compan'fs  Ship — Arrive  at 
Stromness — Early  education — Set  sail  for  HudsorCs  Bay — 
Fort  Prince  of  Wales — Tlf  Samuel  Hearne — Life  at 
Churchill — 7ame  Polar  Bear  at  the  Factory — Musketoes, 
Sand  Flies,  and  Midgeuks — Companions  at  the  Factory — 
Arrival  of  George  Charles — Means  of  obtaining  a  Surveyor 
by  Hudson'' s  Bay  Company. 

IN  the  month  of  May  1784  at  the  Port  of  London,  I 
embarked  in  the  ship  Prince  Rupert  belonging  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  as  apprentice  and  clerk  to 
the  said  company,  bound  for  Churchill  Factory,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  bay.  None  of  the  Officers  or  Men  had  their  stock 
of  liquor  on  board  from  the  high  price  of  those  articles.  On 
the  third  morning  at  dawn  of  day,  we  perceived  a  dutch 
lugger  about  half  a  mile  from  us.  A  boat  was  directly  lowered, 
and  the  gunner  a  tall  handsome  young  man,  stepped  into  her 
with  four  men,  they  were  soon  on  board  of  the  lugger,  a 
case  of  gin  was  produced,  a  glass  tasted ;  approved,  the 
dutchman  was  in  a  hurry,  as  he  said  a  Revenue  Cutter  was 
cruising  near  hand,  and  he  must  luff  off  ;  a  Guinea  was  paid, 
the  case  locked,  put  into  the  boat,  and  was  soon  placed  in 


4         DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  steerage  cabin  of  our  ship.  The  case  was  of  half  inch 
boards  tacked  together,  and  daubed  red,  on  opening  it  there 
were  nine  square  bottles  of  common  glass,  each  was  full  with 
the  corks  cut  close  to  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  except  one  with 
a  long  cork,  the  one  which  the  gunner  had  tasted,  it  was 
taken  out  a  glass  handed  round  and  each  praised  it ;  but  the 
carpenter  who  was  an  old  cruiser  wished  to  taste  some  of  the 
other  bottles,  a  cork  was  drawn,  a  glass  filled,  the  colour  had 
a  fine  look,  it  was  tasted,  spit  out  and  declared  to  be  sea  water, 
aU  the  others  were  found  to  be  the  same. 

The  gunner  who  had  thus  paid  a  guinea  for  three  half 
pints  of  gin,  the  contents  of  the  bottle,  got  into  a  fighting 
humour,  but  to  no  purpose,  the  dutchman  was  luffing  off  in 
fine  style.  The  next  morning  about  sun  rise,  the  hills  of 
Scotland  lying  blue  in  the  western  horizon,  to  the  east  of  us 
about  two  miles,  we  saw  a  boat  with  six  men  coming  from 
the  deep  sea  fishing.  The  wind  was  light,  and  they  soon  came 
alongside.  They  were  fine  manly  hardy  looking  men,  they  were 
sitting  up  to  their  knees  in  fish,  for  the  boat  was  full  of  the 
various  kinds  they  had  caught ;  Our  Captain  bought  some 
fine  halibut  and  skate  fish  from  them,  for  which  they  would 
not  take  money,  but  old  rope  in  exchange  to  make  fettels 
for  their  creels,  these  words  I  did  not  understand  until  the 
Boatswain,  who  was  a  Scotchman  told  me  it  was  to  make 
rope  handles  to  their  baskets  and  buckets.  Our  captain 
pleased  with  his  bargain,  told  me  to  give  them  a  hat  full  of 
biscuit.  Umbrella's  were  not  in  those  days,  but  our  broad 
brimmed  hats  served  for  both  purposes.  Pleased  with  the 
ruddy  looks  of  them,  I  filled  my  hat  as  full  as  it  could  hold, 
and  had  to  carry  it  by  the  edges  of  the  brim.  As  I  passed 
by  the  Captain  I  heard  him  give  me  a  hearty  curse,  and  saying 
I'll  never  send  him  for  biscuit  again  ;  but  the  boat's  crew 
were  so  pleased  they  told  me  to  hand  down  a  bucket,  which 
they  filled  with  fresh  caught  herrings,  a  great  relief  from 
salt  meat. 


JOIN   HUDSON'S   BAY  COMPANY  5 

On  the  sixth  day  about  nine  pm.  we  anchored  in  the 
harbour  of  Stromness,  where  the  three  ships  bound  for 
Hudsons  Bay  had  to  wait  for  final  instructions  and  sailing 
orders,  as  there  were  no  telegraphs  in  those  [days]  we  were 
delayed  three  weeks.  Until  this  Voyage  I  had  passed  my  life 
near  to  Westminster  Abbey,  the  last  seven  year  in  the  grey 
coat  school  on  royal  foundation.  This  school  was  formerly 
something  of  a  Monastery  and  belonged  to  Westminster 
Abbey  from  which  it  was  taken  at  the  suppression  of  the 
monastic  order,  but  not  finally  settled  until  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne.  It  is  still  held  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of 
the  Abbey  by  the  Tenure  of  paying  a  peper  corn  to  the  said 
Dean  and  Chapter  on  a  certain  day,  which  the  Governors 
annually  pay. 

During  the  year  our  holidays  at  different  times  were 
about  eighteen  to  twenty  days,  the  greatest  part  of  which  I 
spent  in  this  venerable  Abbey  and  it's  cloisters,  reading  the 
monumental  inscriptions  and  [as]  often  as  possible  [in]  Henry 
the  seventh  chapel.  My  strolls  were  to  London  Bridge, 
Chelsea,  and  Vauxhall  and  S'  James's  Park.  Books  in  those 
days  were  scarce  and  dear  and  most  of  the  scholars  got  the 
loan  of  such  books  as  his  parents  could  lend  him.  Those 
which  pleased  us  most  were  the  Tales  of  the  Genii,  the 
Persian,  and  Arabian  Tales,  with  Robinson  Crusoe  and 
Gullivers  Travels  :  these  gave  us  many  subjects  for  discussion 
and  how  each  would  behave  on  various  occasions. 

With  such  an  account  of  the  several  regions  of  the  Earth 
and  on  such  credible  authority,  I  conceived  myself  to  have 
knowledge  to  say  something  of  any  place  I  might  come  to, 
and  the  blue  hills  of  Scotland  werb  so  distant  as  to  leave  to 
imagination  to  paint  them  as  she  pleased.  When  I  woke  in 
the  morning  and  went  upon  deck,  I  could  not  help  staring 
to  see  if  [what]  was  before  me  was  reality  for  I  had  never 
read  of  such  a  place.  And  at  length  exclaimed  I  see  no  trees, 
to  which  a  Sailor  answered  No  no,  people  here  do  not  spoil 


6         DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

their  clothes  by  climbing  up  trees.  One  of  the  first  objects 
that  drew  my  attention  were  several  kelp  kilns  for  burning 
sea  weed  into  a  kind  of  potash.  The  sea  weeds  were  collected 
by  a  number  of  Men  and  Women  their  legs  appeared  red 
and  swelled.  The  sea  weeds  were  collected  into  baskets,  the 
rope  handles  of  which  were  passed  round  their  breasts,  each 
helped  up  the  load  for  one  another,  and  as  they  carried  it 
over  rough  rocky  shore  left  by  the  ebb  tide  to  the  kilns,  the 
sea  water  streamed  down  their  backs. 

The  smoke  of  the  fires  of  these  kilns  was  as  black  as  that  of 
a  coal  fire.  One  day  our  Captain  had  invited  the  other 
captains  and  some  gentlemen  from  the  Island  to  dine  with 
him,  a  little  before  the  time  the  wind  changed,  and  the  smoke 
of  five  of  the  kilns  came  direct  on  our  ship  turning  day  into 
night,  the  Boatswain  was  ordered  to  go  and  make  them  put 
out  their  kilns,  which  they  refused  to  do  ;  upon  which  he 
threatened  to  send  cannon  balls  among  them  to  smash  their 
kilns,  but  the  sturdy  fellows  replied.  You  may  as  well  take 
our  lives  as  our  means,  we  will  not  put  them  out.  Finding 
threats  would  not  do,  he  enquired  how  much  they  gained  a 
day  :  they  said,  when  the  kilns  burn  well  they  gained  ten- 
pence  ;  upon  which  he  gave  to  each  one  shilling ;  the  kilns 
were  then  soon  put  out,  the  smoke  cleared  away  and 
we  again  saw  daylight.  I  could  not  help  comparing  this 
hard,  wet  labour  for  tenpence  a  day  where  not  even  a 
whistle  was  heard,  with  the  merry  songs  of  the  ploughboys 
in  England. 

This  place  was  to  me  a  new  world,  nothing  reminded  me 
of  Westminster  Abbey,  and  my  strolls  to  Vauxhall,  Spring 
Gardens  and  other  places,  where  all  was  beauty  to  the  eye, 
and  verdure  to  the  feet ;  here  all  was  rock  with  very  little 
soil,  everywhere  loose  stones  that  hurt  my  feet ;  not  a  tree 
to  be  seen.  I  sadly  missed  the  old  Oaks,  under  whose  shade 
I  sat,  and  played.  I  could  not  conceive  by  what  means  the 
people  lived  ;    they  appeared  comfortable,  and  their  low  dark 


JOIN   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY  7 

houses,  with  a  peat  fire,  the  smoke  of  which  escaped  by  a 
small  hole,  contained  all  they  required. 

They  carried  on  a  considerable  contraband  trade  with 
Holland  ;  which  from  the  very  high  duties  on  Liquors  and 
other  articles  gave  them  a  profitable  trade.  None  of  the 
officers  and  crews  of  the  three  Ships  had  provided  themselves 
with  liquors  for  the  voyage,  as  they  knew  these  things  could 
be  procured  here  cheaper  and  better  than  in  London.  One 
afternoon,  taking  a  walk  with  one  of  the  petty  officers,  we 
entered  a  low  dark  house.  It  was  three  or  four  minutes  before 
we  could  perceive  the  gudeman,  who  in  his  homespun  blue 
coat  was  sitting  alone  by  his  turf  fire ;  my  companion  en- 
quired how  times  went,  and  if  he  had  an  anker  keg  of  comfort 
for  a  cold  voyage  ;  he  said  of  late  the  Revenue  Cutters  had 
been  very  active,  and  stocks  low  ;  but  he  could  accommodate 
him.  The  price  was  soon  settled,  and  the  gin  found  a  place 
in  the  ship.  And  thus  it  will  always  be  with  high  duties. 
The  Kirk  was  on  the  shore  of  the  Harbor,  the  Minister  was 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Falkner,  a  gentleman  remarkable  for  a  fine 
powerful  voice  and  using  plain  language  adapted  to  the 
education  of  his  flock,  he  appeared  to  be  much  respected. 
Altho'  many  of  his  congregation  came  several  miles  over  a 
rough  country,  yet  his  Kirk  of  a  Sunday  was  filled  ;  every 
man  woman  and  child  came  with  their  blue  stockings  and 
thick  soled  shoes  neatly  folded  under  their  arms.  Sitting 
down  on  the  stones  near  the  church  they  were  put  on  their 
feet,  and  thus  [they]  entered  the  Kirk ;  on  coming  out  the 
shoes  and  stockings  were  taken  off,  folded  and  placed  under 
the  arms  and  thus  [they]  returned  home  :  their  behaviour 
was  remarkably  good,  grave  yet  cheerfuU  with  respect  for  each 
other,  and  kind  attention  to  the  women  and  children.  In 
those  days  there  was  no  Telegraph  ;  it  took  three  weeks  to 
send  letters  to  London  and  receive  an  answer  for  sailing 
orders.  We  now  held  our  course  over  the  western  ocean  ; 
and  near  the  islands   of  America  saw  several  icebergs,   and 


8         DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Hudson's  Straits  were  so  full  of  ice,  as  to  require  the  time  of 
near  a  month  to  pass  them  ;  this  being  effected  the  three 
ships  separated,  one  for  Albany  and  Moose  Factories,  another 
for  York  Factory,  and  the  third  for  Churchill  Factory  at 
which  last  place  we  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  September 

1784. 

Hudson's  Bay,  including  Jame's  Bay,  may  be  said  to  be 

an  inland  sea,  connected  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  by  Hudson's 
Straits :  it  is  in  the  form  of  a  Horse  Shoe  ;  and  in  Latitude 
extends  from  52  degrees  to  60  degrees  north,  and  from 
70  degrees  to  95  degrees  west  of  Greenwich  in  the  northern 
part ;  and  covers  an  area  of  about  192,770  square  statute 
miles. ^  On  it's  west  side  it  receives  Seal,  Churchill,  the 
Kissiskatchewan,^  Hayes,  Severn,  Albany,  and  Moose  Rivers  ; 
on  the  east  side  Ruperts  and  several  other  Rivers,  the  names 
of  which  are  unknown  as  they  come  from  barren,  desolate, 
countries.  From  Seal  River  leading  south  to  Churchill  River, 
about  thirty  six  miles,  the  country  is  of  granite  rock,  along 
the  Bay  shore  of  which  is  a  narrow  strip  of  marsh  land,  appar- 
ently the  alluvial  of  Seal  River.  The  granitic  rocks  which 
bounds  the  sea  coast  from  far  to  the  northward  have  their 
southern  termination  at  Churchill  River;  in  Latitude  58°.  47' 
North  Longitude  94°.  3'  West,  then  forms  a  retiring  line  from 
the  sea  shore  ;  for  150  miles  to  the  Kissiskatchewan  River, 
up  which  the  first  granite  is  found  at  the  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  five  miles,  being  the  borders  of  the  most 
eastern  Lakes  ;  and  this  distance  appears  to  be  wholly  alluvial ; 
and  to  be  of  much  the  same  width  all  along  the  Bay  side  : 

1  Hudson  Bay  extends  from  latitude  51°  10'  N.  at  the  south  end  of 
James  Bay  to  latitude  64°  N.  and  from  longitude  77°  30'  E.  to  94°  30'  E., 
and  has  a  total  area  of  about  500,000  square  miles. 

*  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Thompson  constantly  speaks  of  the 
Nelson  river  as  the  Kissiskatchewan  river,  though  I  am  unable  to  learn 
that  this  name  was  used  for  it  by  the  Indians.  Among  the  Cree  Indians 
who  live  on  its  banks,  the  Nelson  river  is  called  Powinigow  or  Powinini- 
gow,  which  probably  means  "  the  Rapid  Strangers'  river." 


JOIN   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY  9 

these  alluvials  especially  of  the  Kissiskatchewan  and  Hayes's 
Rivers  have  high  steep  banks  of  earth  and  gravel  intermixed, 
from  ten  to  forty  feet ;  the  gravel  and  small  stones  are  all 
rounded  by  the  action  of  water  ;  the  Rivers  passing  through 
this  alluvial  have  a  very  rapid  current  with  several  Falls. 
Churchill  River  where  it  enters  the  Sea,  is  an  noble  stream 
of  about  one  and  a  half  mile  in  width  ;  on  the  south  side  it 
is  bounded  by  a  low  point  of  rock  and  sand  ;  on  the  north 
side  by  a  low  neck  of  sand  with  rock  appearing  through  it; 
at  the  extremity  of  which  the  Point  is  about  an  acre  in  width, 
on  which  was  erected  about  the  year  1745  a  regular,  well 
constructed  Fort  of  Granite :  ^  having  about  thirty  cannon  of 
six  to  eighteen  pound  shot.  There  was  no  approach  to  it  but 
by  the  narrow  isthmus  of  sand.  The  water  was  too  shoal  for 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  to  the  middle  of  the  River  for  Ships, 
and  this  was  the  only  place  a  ship  could  come  to.  (It  was  at 
this  Fort  that  M"  Wales  the  Astronomer  observed  the  Transit 
of  Venus  over  the  Sun  in  1769).^  In  the  war  with  the  United 
States,  and  with  France  ;  in  the  year  1782  the  celebrated 
Navigator  De  la  Peyrouse^  was  sent  from  France,  with  one 
Ship  of  seventy  four  Guns,  and  two  Frigates  to  take  and 
destroy  the  Forts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  the 
month  of  August  these  vessels  anchored  in  the  Bay,  about 

^  For  a  description  and  plan  of  Fort  Prince  of  Wales,  which  is  here 
referred  to,  and  an  account  of  its  capture  by  Admiral  de  la  Perouse,  see 
Samuel  Hearne's  Journey,  edited  by  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  The  Cham  plain  Society, 
Toronto,  1911,  pp.  6,  7,  21-2. 

2  William  Wales  was  one  of  the  ablest  astronomers  and  mathema- 
ticians of  his  day.  With  Joseph  Dymond  he  spent  a  year  at  Churchill 
between  August  9,  1768,  and  September  7,  1769,  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
serving the  transit  of  Venus  over  the  sun  on  June  3,  1769.  His  obser- 
vatory was  situated  on  the  top  of  the  wall  of  the  south-east  bastion  of 
Fort  Prince  of  Wales,  within  the  parapet. 

'  Admiral  de  la  Perouse  was  not  only  one  of  the  most  famous  admirals 
of  the  French  Navy,  but  he  was  also  one  of  France's  greatest  geographers. 
After  destroying  Forts  York  and  Churchill  on  Hudson  Bay  in  1 782,  he  started 
on  a  voyage  round  the  world,  and  was  last  heard  from  in  1788  from  Botany 
Bay. 


10       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

four  miles  north  of  the  Fort ;  and  the  next  day  sent  a  boat 
well  manned,  to  sound  the  River  ;  at  this  time  the  Fort  was 
under  the  command  of  the  well  known  traveller  M""  Samuel 
Hearne  ;  ^  who  had  been  in  the  naval  service.  He  allowed  the 
french  Boat  to  sound  the  River  to  their  satisfaction  ;  without 
firing  a  single  shot  at  them  ;  from  this  conduct  Admiral  De 
la  Peyrouse  judged  what  kind  of  a  Commander  of  the  Fort 
he  had  to  contend  with  ;  accordingly  next  day,  on  the  narrow 
isthmus  of  sand  and  rock  of  a  full  mile  in  length  which  leads  to 
the  Fort,  he  landed  four  hundred  men,  who  marched  direct 
on  the  Fort  with  only  small  arms.  The  men  in  the  Fort 
begged  of  M"^  Hearne  to  allow  them  to  mow  down  the 
French  Troops  with  the  hea^.'}'-  guns  loaded  with  grape  shot, 
which  he  absolutely  refused .;  and  as  they  approached  he 
ordered  the  gates  to  be  opei.  jd,  and  went  out  to  meet  them, 
and  surrendered  at  discretion  ;  all  the  goods,  stores,  with 
a  large  quantity  of  valuable  Furrs  fell  into  their  hands.  The 
Fort  was  destroyed  and  burnt ;  but  the  stone  walls  of  the 
Fort  were  of  such  solid  masonry  [that]  the  fire  scarcely  injured 
them.  The  french  Commander  declared,  that  had  his  sound- 
ing Boat  been  fired  at,  he  would  not  have  thought  of  attacking 
such  a  strong  Fort  so  late  in  the  season,  when  there  was  not 
time  for  a  regular  siege.  M"^  Hearne  was  received  with  cold 
pohteness,  and  looked  upon  with  contempt  by  the  french 
Officers.  (Note.  M"^  Samuel  Hearne  was  a  handsome  man 
of  six  feet  in  height,  of  a  ruddy  complexion  and  remarkably 
well  made,  enjoying  good  health  ;  as  soon  as  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  could  do  without  his  services  they  dismissed 
him  for  cowardice.  Under  him  I  served  my  first  year.  It 
was  customary  of  a  Sunday  for  a  Sermon  to  be  read  to  the 
Men,  which  was  done  in  his  room,  the  only  comfortable  one 

1  Samuel  Hearne  sailed  from  Churchill  for  England  in  the  ship  Sea 
Horse  in  August,  1787,  and  died  in  England  in  November,  1792,  at  the 
age  of  forty-seven.  A  sketch  of  his  life  and  character  will  be  found  in 
Samuel  Hearne's  Journey,  edited  by  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  pp.  1-23. 


JOIN   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY         11 

in  the  Factory ;  one  Sunday,  after  the  service,  M""  Jefferson  ^ 
the  reader  and  myself  staid  a  few  minutes  on  orders,  he  then 
took  Voltaire's  Dictionary,  and  said  to  us,  here  is  my  belief, 
and  I  have  no  other.  In  the  Autumn  of  1785  he  returned 
to  England,  became  a  member  of  the  Bucks  Club  and  in  two 
years  was  buried  :)  The  present  Factory  ^  is  about  five  miles 
above  the  Fort,  in  a  small  Bay  formed  by  a  ledge  of  rocks 
which  closes  on  the  river  about  five  hundred  yards  below  the 
Factory,  above  which  for  seven  miles  is  an  extensive  marsh 
to  the  lower  rapids  of  the  River.  The  Factory  is  suppHed 
once  a  year  with  goods  and  provisions,  by  a  Ship  which 
arrives  on  the  last  days  of  August,  or  early  in  September,  and 
in  about  ten  days  is  ready  for  her  homeward  voyage ;  the 
severity  of  the  cUmate  requiring  all  possible  dispatch.  The 
cold  weather  now  comes  rapidly  on,  but  as  there  was  no 
Thermometer,  we  could  only  judge  of  the  intensity  of  the 
cold  by  our  sensations,  and  it's  action  on  the  land  and  water. 
On  the  fifteenth  day  of  November  this  great  and  deep  River 
was  frozen  over  from  side  to  side,  and  although  the  Spring 
tides  of  New  and  full  Moon  rose  ten  to  twelve  feet  above 
the  ordinary  level,  no  impression  was  made  on  the  ice,  it  kept 
firm,  and  it  was  the  middle  of  June  the  following  year  when 
the  ice  broke  up  and  gave  us  the  pleasant  sight  of  water. 
About  the  middle  of  October  the  Marshes  and  Swamps  are 
frozen  over,  and  the  Snow  lies  on  the  ground  ;  for  about 
two  months  the  Factory  yard,  enclosed  by  stockades  of  twelve 
feet  in  height,  was  kept  clear  of  snow,  but  in  the  latter  end 
of  December  a  north  east  snow  storm  of  three  days  con- 
tinuance drifted  the  snow  to  the  height  of  the  stockades  and 

^  Jefferson  was  second  in  command  at  Churchill  during  the  latter  part 
of  Samuel  Hearne's  regime  ;  and  after  Hearne's  departure  he  was  for  a 
year  or  two  in  command  of  the  post. 

2  Churchill  Factory  is  still  situated  in  the  place  where  it  was  when 
Thompson  lived  in  it  in  1785.  For  a  description  of  it  and  its  surroundings, 
see  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  Report  on  the  Dubawnt,  Kazan,  and  Ferguson  Rivers, 
Ottawa,  1897,  pp.  93-8. 


12       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

over  them,  and  filled  the  whole  yard  to  the  depth  of  six  to 
ten  feet,  which  could  not  be  cleared,  and  through  which 
avenues  had  to  be  cut  and  cleared  of  about  four  feet  in  width  ; 
and  thus  remained  till  late  in  April,  when  a  gradual  thaw 
cleared  the  snow  away.  From  the  end  of  October  to  the 
end  of  April  every  step  we  walk  is  in  Snow  Shoes.  The 
Natives  wait  with  ease  and  activity,  and  also  many  of  us  : 
but  some  find  them  a  sad  incumbrance,  their  feet  become 
sore  and  their  ankles  sprained  ;  with  many  a  tumble  in  the 
snow  from  which  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  rise.  In  the  open 
season  in  the  months  of  July  and  August,  Salmon  ^  from  two 
to  five  pounds  weight  are  plentiful ;  two  nets  each  of  thirty 
fathoms  in  length  by  five  feet  in  height  maintain  the  Factory 
from  three  to  four  days  in  the  week.  This  fish  is  not 
found  south  of  Churchill  River.  Peculiar  to  Churchill  is  a 
large  species  of  Hare,^  it  dwells  among  the  rocks,  it's  nest  is 
better  than  other  Hares,  it's  skin  stronger,  the  fur  long  and 
very  soft,  of  a  beautiful  white  ;  twenty  two  were  caught, 
their  skins  sent  to  London  and  readily  bought  by  the  Barbers. 
The  country,  soil,  and  climate  in  which  we  live,  have  always 
a  powerful  effect  upon  the  state  of  society,  and  the  movements 
and  comforts  of  every  individual,  he  must  conform  himself 
to  the  circumstances  under  which  he  is  placed,  and  as  such 
we  lived  and  conducted  ourselves  in  this  extreme  cold  climate. 
All  our  movements  more,  or  less,  were  for  self-preservation  : 
All  the  wood  that  could  be  collected  for  fuel,  gave  us  only 
one  fire  in  the  morning,  and  another  in  the  evening.^    The  rest 


^  Probably  some  form  of  the  wide-ranging  Salvelinus  alpinus  (Linn.) 
[E.  A.  P.] 

*  Lepus  arcticus  caniis  Preble.     [E.  A.  P.] 

3  The  house  in  which  Thompson  lived  at  Churchill  in  the  winter  of 
1784-85  had  doubtless  been  but  recently  built,  for  the  old  dwelling-house 
at  Fort  Prince  of  Wales  had  been  burned  in  1782,  and  the  employees  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  only  begun  the  construction  of  a  new 
trading  post  in  the  fall  of  1783,  when  they  had  been  allowed  to  go  back 
to  Hudson  Bay.     In  the  hurry  of  building,  Heame  and  those  with  him 


JOIN   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY          13 

of  the  day,  if  bad  weather,  we  had  to  walk  in  the  guard  room 
with  our  heavy  coats  of  dressed  Beaver  ;  but  when  the  weather 
was  tolerable  we  passed  the  day  in  shooting  Grouse.^  The 
interior  of  the  walls  of  the  House  were  covered  with  rime  to 
the  thickness  of  four  inches,  pieces  of  which  often  broke  off, 
to  prevent  which  we  wetted  the  whole  extent,  and  made  it 
a  coat  of  ice,  after  which  it  remained  firm,  and  added  to  the 
warmth  of  the  House,  for  the  cold  is  so  intense,  that  every- 
thing in  a  manner  is  shivered  by  it,  continually  the  Rocks 
are  split  with  a  sound  like  the  report  of  a  gun.  Everywhere 
the  rocks  are  fractured  from  the  well  known  effects  of  freezing 
water.  This  is  very  well  for  winter,  but  in  the  summer  season 
the  Rocks  are  also  fractured  ;  although  more  than  half  of 
their  surface  is  covered  with  Ponds  and  rills  of  water,  I  could 
not  believe  that  water  thawing  could  produce  this  effect ;  but 
in  the  month  of  July  I  was  sitting  on  a  rock  to  shoot  Curlews  ^ 
as  they  passed,  when  a  large  rock  not  ten  yards  from  me 
split,  I  went  to  it,  the  fracture  was  about  an  inch  in  width. 
In  looking  down  it,  about  ten  feet  from  the  surface,  was  a 
bed  of  soHd  ice,  the  surface  of  which  appeared  damp  as  if 
beginning  to  thaw ;  a  few  days  after  another  large  Rock  split 
close  to  me,  by  the  fracture,  at  the  depth  of  about  twenty 
feet  was  a  bed  of  ice  in  the  same  state  :  these  rocks  are  not 
isolated,  they  are  part  of  an  immense  extent  to  the  westward 
and  northward,  every  where  with  innumerable  fractures ; 
among  these  rocks  are  narrow  vallies  of  rolled  granite  pebbles, 
now  twenty  to  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ;  which 
was  once  the  beach  of  the  sea  :  has  the  land  been  elevated,  or 
the  sea  retired  ;  who  can  tell  what  has  passed  in  ancient 
times.     By  the  early  part  of  October  all  the  birds  of  passage 

appear  to  have  neglected  to  lay  in  a  sufficient  supply  of  firewood  for  the 
winter.  With  well-built  houses  and  plenty  of  fuel  men  can  be  as  warm 
in  winter  at  Churchill  as  in  any  other  part  of  Canada. 

^  Lagopus  albus  (Gmelin),  and  L.  rupestris  (Gmelin),  both  described 
from  Hudson  Bay  specimens.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Numenius  bovealis  (Forster),  and  N.  hudsonicus  Latham.     [E.  A.  P.] 


14       DAVID   THOMPSON'S  NARRATIVE 

have  left  us  for  milder  climes,  and  winter  commences,  the  pools 
of  water  are  frozen  over  and  ice  [is]  on  the  river  side.  The 
polar  Bear  ^  now  makes  his  appearance,  and  prowls  about  until 
the  ice  at  the  sea  shore  is  extended  to  a  considerable  distance  ; 
when  he  leaves  to  prey  on  the  Seal,  his  favourite  food  :  during 
his  stay  he  is  for  plunder  and  every  kind  of  mischief,  but  not 
willing  to  fight  for  it.  Only  one  accident  happened,  it  was 
in  November  the  snow  about  eighteen  inches  deep.  A  she 
Bear  prowling  about  came  near  to  one  of  the  grouse  hunters, 
his  gun  snaped  and  in  turning  about  to  get  away  he  fell,  fortu- 
nately on  his  back,  the  Bear  now  came  and  hooked  one  of  her 
fore  paws  in  one  of  his  snow  shoes,  and  dragged  him  along 
for  her  cubs  ;  sadly  frightened,  after  a  short  distance  he  re- 
covered himself,  pricked  and  primed  his  gun,  and  sent  the 
load  of  shot  Hke  a  ball  into  her  belly  ;  she  fell  with  a  growl, 
and  left  him.  He  lost  no  time  in  getting  up,  and  running 
away  as  fast  as  snow  shoes  would  permit  him. 

The  polar,  or  white.  Bear,  when  taken  young  is  easily 
tamed  ;  In  the  early  part  of  July  the  whaling  boat  in  chase 
of  the  Beluga  ^  came  up  with  a  she  bear  and  her  two  cubs ; 
the  bear  and  one  of  her  cubs  were  killed ;  the  other,  a  male, 
was  kept,  brought  to  the  factory  and  tamed.  At  first  he  had 
to  be  carefully  protected  from  the  dogs,  but  he  soon  increased 
in  size  and  strength  to  be  a  fuU  match  for  them,  and  the 
blows  of  his  fore  feet  kept  them  at  a  distance.  This  Bruin 
continued  to  grow,  and  his  many  tricks  made  him  a  favourite, 
especially  with  the  sailors,  who  often  wrestled  with  him,  and 
his  growing  strength  gave  them  a  cornish  hug.  In  the 
severity  of  winter  when  spruce  beer  could  not  be  kept  from 
freezing  each  mess  of  four  men  get  a  quart  of  molasses  instead 
of  beer,  of  which  Bruin  was  fond  as  well  as  grog,  and 
every  Saturday  used  to  accompany  the  men  to  the  steward's 
shed   when   the   rations   were  served   to   them,   the  steward 

'   Thalarctos  maritimus  (Phipps).     [E.  A.  P.] 
>  Delphinapterus  catodon  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOIN    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY          15 

always  gave  him  some  on  one  of  his  fore  paws,  which  he  Hcked 
into  his  mouth.  On  one  of  these  days  the  steward  and 
Bruin  had  quarreled  and  as  punishment  he  got  no  molasses  : 
he  sat  very  quietly  while  the  steward  was  putting  all  to 
rights,  but  seeing  him  ready  to  shut  the  door,  made  a  dash 
at  the  hogshead  of  molasses,  and  thrusting  his  head  and  neck 
to  the  shoulders,  into  it,  to  the  utter  dismay  of  the  steward, 
he  carried  off  a  large  gallon  on  his  shaggy  hair  ;  he  walked 
to  the  middle  of  the  yard,  sat  down,  and  then  first  with  one 
paw,  then  the  other,  brought  the  molasses  into  his  mouth 
until  he  had  cleaned  all  that  part  of  his  coat,  all  the  time 
deliciously  smacking  his  lips.  Whatever  quarrels  the  steward 
and  the  bear  had  afterwards,  the  latter  always  got  his  ration 
of  molasses.  On  Saturday  the  sailors  had  an  allowance  of 
rum,  and  frequently  bought  some  for  the  week,  and  on  that 
night  Bruin  was  sure  to  find  his  way  into  the  guard  room  ; 
one  night  having  tasted  some  grog,  he  came  to  a  sailor  with 
whom  he  was  accustomed  to  wrestle,  and  who  was  drinking 
too  freely,  and  was  treated  by  him  so  liberally  that  he  got 
drunk,  knocked  the  sailor  down  and  took  possession  of  his 
bed  ;  at  fisty  cuffs  he  knew  the  bear  would  beat  him  and 
being  determined  to  have  his  bed  he  shot  the  bear.  This  is 
the  fate  of  almost  every  Bear  that  is  tamed  when  grown  to 
their  strength.  This  animal  aifects  a  northern  cHmate  and 
is  found  only  on  the  sea  side,  and  the  mouths  of  large  rivers 
but  not  beyond  the  ascent  of  the  tide,  and  keeping  the  line 
of  the  sea  coasts  appear  more  numerous  than  they  really  are. 
Some  of  the  males  grow  to  a  large  size,  I  have  measured  a  skin 
when  stretched  to  a  frame  to  dry,  ten  and  a  half  feet  in 
length.  The  fore  paw  of  one  of  them  kept  at  Churchill  weighed 
in  the  scales  thirty  two  pounds,  a  decent  paw  to  shake  hands 
with,  the  claws  are  [sharp  ?]  but  only  about  three  inches  in 
length,  the  flesh  is  so  fat  and  oily  that  a  considerable  quantity 
is  collected  for  the  lamps,  and  other  purposes.  The  skin  is 
loose  and  when  taken  off  appears  capable  of  covering  a  much 


16        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

larger  animal ;  he  swims  with  ease  and  swiftness,  and  requires 
a  good  boat  with  four  men  to  come  up  with  him.  Although 
the  white  bear  is  found  along  the  coasts  inhabited  by  the 
Esquimaux  yet  very  few  of  the  skins  of  this  animal  are  traded 
from,  or  seen  with,  them.  For  the  white  bear  though  seldom 
he  attacks  a  man,  yet  when  attacked  will  fight  hard  for  his  Hfe, 
and  as  he  is,  what  the  Indians  call  Seepnak  (strong  of  life)  he 
is  very  rarely  killed  by  a  single  ball ;  much  less  with  an  arrow 
that  cannot  break  a  bone ;  hence  they  must  be  unwilling  to 
attack  him. 

The  Nahathaway  Indians  are  all  armed  with  guns,  and  are 
good  shots,  but  they  only  attack  this  species  of  Bear  when 
they  are  two  together,  and  one  after  the  other  keep  a  steady 
fire  on  him,  but  a  baU  in  the  brain  or  heart  is  directly  fatal. 

The  Esquimaux  are  a  people  with  whom  we  are  very 
little  acquainted,  although  in  a  manner  surrounding  us,  they 
live  wholly  on  the  sea  coast,  which  they  possess  from  the 
gulph  of  the  S*  Lawrence,  round  the  shores  of  Labrador  to 
Hudsons  Straits,  these  Straits  and  adjacent  Islands,  to  Hudson's 
Bay,  part  of  it's  east  shores ;  but  on  the  west  side  of  this 
Bay,  only  north  of  Churchill  River,  thence  northward  and 
westward  to  the  Coppermine  River ;  thence  to  the  M'^Kenzie 
and  westward  to  Icy  Cape,  the  east  side  of  Behring's  Strait. 
Along  this  immense  line  of  sea  coast  they  appear  to  have 
restricted  themselves  to  the  sea  shores,^  their  Canoes  give  them 
free  access  to  ascend  the  Rivers,  yet  they  never  do,  every  part 
they  frequent  is  wholly  destitute  of  growing  Trees,  their 
whole  dependence  for  fuel  and  other  purposes  is  on  drift 
wood,  of  which,  fortunately  there  is  plenty.     The  whole  is  a 

^  In  a  general  way,  this  statement  that  the  Eskimo  Hve  exclusively 
on  the  sea  coast  is  correct.  Nevertheless,  while  exploring  the  Kazan 
river,  which  flows  into  Chesterfield  Inlet,  in  1894,  I  encountered  a  tribe 
of  Eskimo  who  live  on  its  banks  and  rarely  visit  the  salt  water.  They 
subsist  chiefly  on  the  meat  of  the  caribou,  which  they  kill  with  their  spears 
in  great  numbers,  and  from  the  skins  of  the  caribou  they  make  their 
clothing  and  the  coverings  for  their  kayaks  or  small  canoes. 


JOIN    HUDSON'S    BAY   COMPANY  17 

dreary,  monotonous  coast  of  Rock  and  Moss  without  Hills 
or  Mountains  to  the  M'^Kenzie  River,  thence  westward  the 
Mountains  are  near  the  shore. 

In  the  latter  end  of  February  and  the  months  of 
March  and  April,  from  the  mouth  of  the  River  seaward  for 
several  miles  the  Seals  are  numerous,  and  have  many  holes  in 
the  ice  through  which  they  come  up  :  how  these  holes  are 
made  in  the  apparent  solid  ice,  I  never  could  divine ;  to 
look  into  them,  they  appear  like  so  many  wells  of  a  round 
form,  with  sides  of  smooth  solid  ice  and  their  size  seldom 
large  enough  to  admit  two  seals  to  pass  together. 

The  Seals  ^  do  not  come  up  on  the  ice  before  nine  or  ten 
in  the  morning  as  the  weather  may  be,  and  go  down  between 
two  and  three  in  the  afternoon  ;  they  are  always  on  the 
watch,  scarce  a  minute  passes  without  some  one  lifting  his 
head,  to  see  if  any  danger  is  near  from  the  Bear  or  Man, 
apparently  their  only  enemies.  Three  of  us  several  times 
made  an  attempt  to  kill  one,  or  more  ;  but  to  no  purpose, 
however  wounded  they  had  always  life  enough  to  faU  into 
the  ice  hole  and  we  lost  them  ;  and  I  have  not  heard  of  any 
Seal  being  killed  on  the  spot  by  a  Ball.  The  Esquimaux 
who  live  to  the  northward  of  us  kill  these  animals  for  food 
and  clothing  in  a  quiet  and  sure  manner  :  the  Hunter  is 
armed  with  a  Lance  headed  with  Bone  or  Iron,  the  latter 
always  preferred  :  the  handle  of  which,  sometimes  is  the 
length  of  twenty  yards  (measured)  made  of  pieces  of  drift 
larch  wood,  neatly  fitted  to  each  other,  bound  together  with 
sinew,  the  handle  is  shortened,  or  lengthened,  as  occasion 
may  require.  The  Esquimaux  Hunter  in  the  evening,  when 
the  Seals  are  gone  to  the  sea,  examines  their  holes,  the  places 
where  they  lie,  and  having  selected  the  hole,  best  adapted  to 

1  Three  species  of  seal  are  common  on  the  coast  of  Hudson  Bay  near 
Fort  Churchill  :  the  Rough  or  Ringed  Seal,  Phoca  hispida  Schreber ; 
the  Common  or  Harbour  Seal,  Phoca  vitulina  Linn.  ;  and  the  Bearded 
Seal,  Erignathus  barbatus  (Erxleben).     [E.  A.  P.] 

B 


18        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

his  purpose,  early  in  the  morning  before  the  seals  come  up, 

goes  to  the  ice  hole  he  has  selected,  on  the  south  side  of 

which  he  places  his    Lance,  the  handle  directed  northward, 

the  point  of  the  Lance  close  to  the  hole,  for  the  seals  He  on 

the  north  side  of  the  ice  hole,  and  directing  his  Lance  to  the 

spot  [where]  the  Seals  have  been  lying,  having  firmly  laid  the 

helve  of  his  lance,  he  retires  to  the  end  of  it,  and  there  hides 

himself  behind  some  broken  ice,  which  if  he  does  not  find 

to  his  purpose,  he  brings  pieces  of  ice  to  make  the  shelter  he 

requires.     Lying  flat  on  his  beUy  he  awaits  with  patience  the 

coming  up  of  the  Seals ;    the  first  Seal  takes  his  place  at  the 

north  edge  of  the  hole,  this  is  also  the  direction  in  which  the 

Lance  is  laid  ;    the  other  seals,  two,  or  three  more,  are  close 

on  each  side,  or  behind  ;    if  the  Seal  is  not  in  the  direct  line 

of  the  Lance,  which  is  sometimes  the  case,  he  gently  twists 

the  handle  of  the  Lance  until  it  is  directly  opposite  to  the 

heart  of  the  Seal ;   still  he  waits  with  patience  until  the  Seal 

appears  asleep  ;   when  with  all  his  skill  and  strength  he  drives 

the  Lance  across  the  hole  (near  three  feet)  into  the  body  of 

the  Seal,  which,  finding  itself  wounded,  and  trying  to  throw 

itself  into  the  ice  hole,  which  the  handle  of  the  lance  prevents, 

only  aids  the  wound  ;    the  hunter  keeps  the  handle  firm,  and 

goes  on  hands  and  knees  to  near  the  hole,  where  he  quietly 

waits  the  death  of  the  seal ;   he  then  drags  the  seal  from  the 

hole,  takes  out  his  lance  and  carefully  washes  the  blood  from 

it.     When  the  hunter  shows  himself  all  the  seals  for  some 

distance  around  dive  into  the  ice  holes,  and  do  not  come  up 

for  several  minutes  ;    this  gives   time  to  the  Esquimaux  to 

place  his  lance  at  another  hole,  and  await  the  seals  return, 

and  thus  he  sometimes  kills  two  of  them  in  one  day  but  this 

is  not  often,  as  the  weather  is  frequently  stormy  and  cloudy. 

The  Esquimaux  are  of  a  square,  plump  make,  few  of  them 

exceed  five  feet  eight  inches  in  height,  the  general  stature  is 

below  this  size,  and  the  women  are  in  proportion  to  the  men, 

their  features  though  broad  are  not  unpleasing,  with  a  ten- 


JOIN    HUDSON'S    BAY   COMPANY          19 

dency  to  ruddy,  they  appear  cheerful  and  contented,  they  are 
supple  active  and  strong  ;  from  the  land,  in  the  open  season, 
they  have  berries,  and  a  few  rein-deer,  but  it  is  to  the  sea  they 
look  for  their  subsistence  :  the  sea  birds,  the  seal,  morse, 
beluga,  and  the  whale  ;  living  on  these  oily  foods,  they  are 
supposed  not  to  be  clean,  but  the  fact  is,  they  are  as  cleanly 
as  people  living  as  they  do,  and  without  soap  can  be  expected 
[to  be],  all  their  cooking  utensils  are  in  good  order.  In  summer 
part  of  them  dwell  in  tents  made  of  the  dressed  skins  of  the 
reindeer,  these  are  pitched  on  the  gravel  banks,  and  kept 
very  neat,  they  make  no  fire  in  them  to  prevent  [them] 
being  soiled  with  smoke,  which  is  made  near  the  tent.  The 
salmon  and  meat  of  the  reindeer  they  cure  by  smoke  of  drift 
wood  of  which  they  have  plenty.  They  are  very  industrious 
and  ingenious,  being  for  eight  months  of  the  year  exposed 
to  the  glare  of  the  snow,  their  eyes  become  weak  ;  at  the  age 
of  forty  years  almost  every  man  has  an  impaired  sight.  The 
eyesight  of  the  women  is  less  injured  at  this  age.  They 
make  neat  goggles  of  wood  with  a  narrow  slit,  which  are 
placed  on  the  eyes,  to  lessen  the  Hght.  They  all  use  Darts, 
Lances,  Bows  and  Arrows,  as  weapons  of  defence,  and  for 
hunting  ;  their  Darts  and  Lances  are  made  of  drift  Larch 
wood,  headed  with  bone  of  the  leg  of  the  Rein  Deer,^  or  a 
piece  of  iron,  the  latter  preferred,  and  the  length  of  the  Dart 
is  proportioned  to  it's  intended  use — for  Birds,  the  Seal,  the 
Beluga,^  Whale  ^  or  the  Morse ;  *  to  the  Dart  or  Lance  for  the 
three  latter,  a  large  bladder  made  of  sealskins,  and  blown  full 
of  air  is  attached  by  a  strong  line  of  neatly  twisted  sinew. 
This  not  only  shews  the  place  of  the  wounded  animal  but  soon 
tires  him,  [so]  that  he  becomes  an  easy  prey,  though  some- 
times with  risque  to  the  Hunter  and  Canoe.     The  Morse  is 

^  Rangifer  arcticus  (Richardson).     [E.  A.  P.] 
"  Delphinapterus  catodon  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Balcena  mysticetus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  The  Walrus,  Odohcsnus  rosmarus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


20        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  animal  most  dreaded,  and  he  is  allowed  to  worry  himself 
to  death  before  they  approach  him.  Whale  Bone  is  part  of 
their  trade,  but  whether  they  procure  it  by  attacking  the 
Whale  as  they  do  the  Morse  or  it  is  the  spoils  of  those  thrown 
ashore,  is  somewhat  uncertain.  They  are  dextrous  in  throw- 
ing the  dart,  although  their  Canoes  allow  only  the  motion  of 
the  upper  part  of  their  bodies,  and  seldom  miss  a  sea  bird  at 
thirty  yards  distance.  Their  Bows  and  Arrows  are  employed 
on  the  Rein  Deer,  Wolf  and  Fox,  they  draw  the  Arrow  well 
and  sure,  whatever  they  make  displays  a  neatness  and  ingenuity 
that  would  do  honor  to  a  first  rate  european  workman  if  he 
had  no  other  tools  than  those  poor  people  have.  All  along 
the  sea  coast  where  the  Esquimaux  are  found,  there  are  no 
standing  woods  of  any  kind,  the  whole  country  is  rock  and 
moss,  the  drift  wood  is  what  they  wholly  depend  on  for 
every  purpose  for  which  wood  is  required,  and  fortunately  it 
is  plentiful ;  brought  down  by  the  rivers  from  the  interior 
countries,  and  thrown  ashore  by  the  waves  and  tides  of  the 
sea  ;  their  country  everywhere  exhibits  Rocks,  Ponds,  and 
Moss,  a  hundred  miles  has  not  ground  for  a  garden,  even  if 
the  cHmate  allowed  it ;  their  cloathing  is  much  the  same 
everywhere,  made  of  Rein  Deer  leather  and  Seal  skins,  both 
men  and  women  wear  boots,  which  come  to  the  knee,  the 
foot  is  made  of  Morse  skin,  the  upper  part  of  seal  skin  with 
the  hair  off,  the  whole  so  neatly  sewed  together  as  to  be 
perfectly  water  tight  :  these  boots  are  much  sought  after  by 
the  people  of  the  Factories,  to  walk  with  in  the  marshes, 
where  our  boots  cannot  stand  the  water.  They  are  worth  six 
shillings  p"^  pair,  (at  Quebec  three  dollars)  and  with  care  last 
two  years,  of  open  seasons.  Their  kettles  are  made  of  black, 
or  dark  grey  marble,  of  various  sizes,  some  will  hold  four  to 
six  gallons,  they  are  of  an  oblong  form,  shallow  in  proportion 
to  their  size,  this  shape  serves  for  fish  as  well  as  flesh,  they  do 
not  put  them  on  the  fire,  the  victuals  in  them  is  cooked  by 
means  of  hot  stones  to  make  the  water  boil,  to  keep  it  boiling 


JOIN    HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY  21 

by  the  same  means  requires  very  little  trouble  ;  the  kettles 
are  kept  clean  and  in  good  order,  poHshed  both  in  the  inside 
and  outside  ;  they  set  a  high  value  on  them  but  prefer  a 
brass  kettle,  as  lighter  and  more  useful.  Their  canoes  are 
made  of  sealskins  sewed  together,  and  held  to  a  proper  shape 
by  gunwales,  and  ribs  made  of  drift  Larch,  and  sometimes 
whalebones  added  ;  they  are  very  sharp  at  both  ends  and  no 
wider  in  the  middle  than  to  admit  a  man  ;  their  length  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  feet,  they  are  decked  with  seal  skins  so  as  to 
prevent  any  water  getting  into  the  canoe,  the  place  to  admit 
the  man  is  strengthened  by  a  broad  hoop  of  wood,  to  the  upper 
part  of  which  is  sewed  a  sealskin  made  to  draw  around  the 
man  like  a  purse,  this  the  Esquimaux  tightens  round  his  waist 
so  that  only  the  upper  part  of  the  body  is  exposed  to  the 
waves  and  weather  ;  they  urge  along  their  canoes  with  great 
swiftness,  by  a  paddle  having  a  blade  at  both  ends  ;  the  handle 
is  in  the  middle.  Early  habit  has  rendered  him  expert  in 
balancing  himself  on  the  waves  of  the  sea  in  these  sharp  canoes 
called  kaijack.  I  never  saw  a  european  who  could  balance 
himself  in  these  canoes  for  three  minutes.  Their  weapons  for 
killing  sea  birds,  seals  &c.  are  placed  on  the  deck  of  the  canoe, 
quite  at  hand,  secured  by  small  cords  of  sinew.  For  the 
removal  of  their  families  they  have  canoes  of  about  thirty 
feet  in  length  by  six  feet  in  breadth  called  oomiaks,  made  of 
seal  skin,  the  gunwales  and  ribs  of  larch  wood,  and  whale- 
bone ;  these  are  paddled  by  the  women  and  steered  by  an 
old  man.  Their  Bows  are  made  of  the  Larch  found  on  the 
beach,  they  are  from  3!  to  five  feet  in  length,  made  of  three 
pieces  of  wood  of  equal  lengths,  and  morticed  into  each  other, 
at  the  back  of  each  joint,  or  mortice,  is  a  piece  of  Morse  tooth 
neatly  made  to  fit  the  Bow,  of  nine  inches  long,  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  thick,  on  each  side  thinned  to  an  edge  :  the  back  of 
the  Bow  is  a  groove  of  half  an  inch  in  depth,  leaving  the  sides 
for  an  inch  thick  along  the  groove  ;  this  is  filled  with  twisted, 
or  plaited  sinew,  running  alternately  from  end  to  end  of  the 


22        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Bow,  each  layer  secured  by  cross  sinews.  In  undoing  a  large 
Bow,  about  four  hundred  fathoms  of  this  sinew  line  was 
measured  :  their  arrows  are  twenty  eight  to  thirty  inches 
long  headed  with  bone,  or  iron  ;  but  being  made  of  Larch, 
for  want  of  better  wood,  which  occasions  them  to  be  too  large 
in  proportion  to  their  weight,  and  lessens  their  velocity  ;  yet 
such  is  the  strength  of  their  Bows,  they  pierce  a  Rein  Deer 
at  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  :  almost  all  their  weapons 
are  barbed.  When  the  winter  moderates  sufficiently  to  allow 
them  to  travel,  they  use  a  large  sled  made  of  two  runners  of 
Larch,  each  runner  is  six  to  seven  feet  long,  six  to  eight 
inches  deep,  and  four  inches  wide,  each  turning  up  at  the 
fore  part,  the  runners  are  fastened  together  by  bars  of  wood 
let  into  the  upper  side  of  each  runner,  on  these  they  lay, 
and  with  cords,  secure  all  their  baggage,  utensils,  and  pro- 
visions ;  the  men  to  the  number  of  six,  or  eight,  harness  them- 
selves to  the  sled  and  march  from  campment  to  campment  in 
quest  of  animals  for  food  and  clothing  :  the  women  carry 
their  children,  and  light  things,  and  sometimes  assist  the  men. 
As  soon  as  mild  weather  comes  on,  [so]  that  they  can  dwell 
in  tents,  they  willingly  leave  their  earthy,  or  snow  huts,  and 
live  in  tents  made  of  the  dressed  leather  of  the  Rein  Deer, 
which  are  pitched  on  clean  gravel  :  they  rarely  allow  a  fire 
to  be  made  in  them  as  it  would  soil  the  leather,  but  for  all 
purposes  make  a  fire  without.  When  they  lie  down  at  night, 
they  have  their  particular  blankets  made  of  Rein  Deer  or 
Seal  skins,  beside  which,  a  large  coverlet  made  of  the  same 
material  extends  all  round  each  half  of  the  tent  and  covers 
everyone,  generally  there  are  two  families  to  each  tent. 

In  their  conduct  to  each  other  they  are  sociable,  friendly, 
and  of  a  cheerful  temper.  But  we  are  not  sufficiently 
acquainted  with  their  language  to  say  much  more  ;  in  their 
traffic  with  us  they  are  honest  and  friendly.  They  are  not  of 
the  race  of  the  north  american  Indians,  but  of  european 
descent.     Nothing  can  oblige  an  Indian  to  work  at  anything 


JOIN    HUDSON'S    BAY   COMPANY          23 

but  stern  necessity ;  whereas  the  Esquimaux  is  naturally 
industrious,  very  ingenious,  fond  of  the  comforts  of  life  so  far 
as  they  can  attain  them,  always  cheerful,  and  even  gay  ;  it 
is  true  that  in  the  morning,  when  he  is  about  to  embark  in 
his  shell  of  a  Canoe,  to  face  the  waves  of  the  sea,  and  the 
powerful  animals  he  has  to  contend  with,  for  food  and  cloth- 
ing for  himself  and  family,  he  is  for  many  minutes  very 
serious,  because  he  is  a  man  of  reflection,  knows  the  dangers 
to  which  he  is  exposed,  but  steps  into  his  canoe,  and  bravely 
goes  through  the  toil  and  dangers  of  the  day. 

The  steady  enemy  of  the  Seal  is  the  Polar  Bear.  How 
this  awkward  animal  catches  the  watchful  Seal,  I  could  not 
imagine.  The  Esquimaux  say,  he  prowls  about  examining  the 
ice  holes  of  the  Seals  and  finding  one  close  to  high  broken  ice 
there  hides  himself,  and  when  the  Seals  are  basking  in  the 
Sun  and  half  asleep,  he  springs  upon  them,  seizes  one,  which 
he  hugs  to  death,  and  as  fast  as  possible,  with  his  teeth  cuts 
the  back  sinews  of  the  neck,  the  Seal  is  then  powerless  and 
Bruin  feasts  on  him  at  his  leisure.  Few  Porpoises  ^  are  seen, 
but  the  Beluga,  a  small  species  of  white  Whale,  are  very 
numerous  from  the  latter  end  of  May  to  the  beginning  of 
September,  their  average  length  is  about  fifteen  feet,  and 
[they]  are  covered  with  fat  from  three  to  five  inches  in  thick- 
ness, which  yields  an  oil  superior  to  that  of  the  black  whale. 
This  Summer  the  Company  had  a  Boat  and  six  Men  employed 
for  the  taking  of  the  Beluga,  the  Boat  was  of  light  construc- 
tion and  painted  white,  which  is  the  color  of  this  fish,  and 
as  experience  has  proved  the  color  best  adapted  to  them  as 
they  often,  in  a  manner,  touch  the  Boat ;  while  they  avoid 
Boats  of  any  other  color,  those  taken  were  all  struck  with  the 
Harpoon,  and  often  held  the  Boat  in  play  from  three  to  five 
miles  before  they  were  killed  by  the  Lance,  towing  the  Boat 

*  Phoccsna  phocesna  (Linn.)  is  common  in  Baffin's  Bay  and  about 
the  mouth  of  Hudson  Strait,  but  apparently  has  not  been  detected  on 
the  west  shore  of  Hudson  Bay.     [E.  A.  P.] 


24        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour  ;  when  struck  they  dive  to 
the  bottom  with  such  force  as  sometimes  to  strike  the  harpoon 
out  of  them,  and  thus  many  escape  ;  in  some  of  those  killed 
I  have  seen  the  harpoon  much  bent.  Their  young  are  of  a 
blueish  color,  and  in  the  month  of  July  weigh  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  they  are  struck  with  a  strong 
boat  hook.  The  Beluga  in  chase  of  the  Salmon  sometimes 
runs  himself  ashore,  especially  up  large  Brooks  and  Creeks. 
If  it  is  ebb  tide  he  stands  every  chance  of  remaining  and  be- 
coming the  prey  of  Gulls  and  the  Polar  Bear.  The  produce 
of  this  summers  fishing,  was  three  tuns  of  oil,  which  could 
not  pay  the  expenses.  There  is  scarce  a  doubt  but  strong 
Nets  well  anchored  would  take  very  many  and  be  profitable 
to  the  Company.^ 

After  passing  a  long  gloomy,  and  most  severe  winter,  it 
will  naturally  be  thought  with  what  delight  we  enjoy  the 
Spring,  and  Summer  ;  of  the  former  we  know  nothing  but 
the  melting  of  the  snow  and  the  ice  becoming  dangerous  ; 
Summer  such  as  it  is,  comes  at  once,  and  with  it  myriads  of 
tormenting  Musketoes  ;  the  air  is  thick  with  them,  there  is 
no  cessation  day  nor  night  of  suffering  from  them.  Smoke 
is  no  relief,  they  can  stand  more  smoke  than  we  can,  and 
smoke  cannot  be  carried  about  with  us.  The  narrow  windows 
were  so  crowded  with  them,  they  trod  each  other  to  death  in 
such  numbers,  we  had  to  sweep  them  out  twice  a  day  ;  a 
chance  cold  northeast  gale  of  wind  was  a  grateful  relief,  and 
[we]  were  thankful  for  the  cold  weather  that  put  an  end  to  our 
sufferings.  The  Musketoe  Bill,  when  viewed  through  a  good 
microscope,  is  of  a  curious  formation,  composed  of  two  dis- 
tinct pieces  ;  the  upper  is  three  sided,  of  a  black  color,  and 
sharp-pointed,  under  which  is  a  round  white  tube,  like  clear 

^  For  many  years  the  White  Whale  or  Beluga  has  been  taken  in  some 
numbers  by  means  of  a  net  stretched  across  the  mouth  of  some  natural 
basin,  which,  being  raised  after  entrance  of  a  school,  imprisons  the  animals 
until  the  falling  tide  leaves  them  helpless.     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOIN    HUDSON'S    BAY    COMPANY  25 

glass,  the  mouth  inverted  inwards  ;  with  the  upper  part  the 
skin  is  perforated,  it  is  then  drawn  back,  and  the  clear  tube 
applied  to  the  wound,  and  the  blood  sucked  through  it  into 
the  body,  till  it  is  full ;  thus  their  bite  are  two  distinct  opera- 
tions, but  so  quickly  done  as  to  feel  as  only  one  ;  different 
Persons  feel  them  in  a  different  manner  ;  some  are  swelled, 
even  bloated,  with  intolerable  itching  ;  others  feel  only  the 
smart  of  the  minute  wounds  ;  Oil  is  the  only  remedy  and 
that  frequently  applied  ;  the  Natives  rub  themselves  with 
Sturgeon  Oil,  which  is  found  to  be  far  more  effective  than 
any  other  oil.  All  animals  suffer  from  them,  almost  to  mad- 
ness, even  the  well  feathered  Birds  suffer  about  the  eyes  and 
neck.  The  cold  nights  of  September  are  the  first,  and  most 
steady  relief.  A  question  has  often  been  asked  to  which  no 
satisfactory  answer  has  ever  been  given  ;  where,  and  how,  do 
they  pass  the  winter,  for  on  their  first  appearance  they  are 
all  full  grown,  and  the  young  brood  does  not  come  forward 
until  July.  The  opinion  of  the  Natives,  as  well  as  many  of 
ourselves,  is,  that  they  pass  the  winter  at  the  bottom  of  ponds 
of  water,  for  when  these  ponds  are  free  of  ice,  they  appear 
covered  with  gnats  in  a  weak  state  ;  and  two,  or  three  days 
after  the  Musketoes  are  on  us  in  full  force.  This  theory  may 
do  very  well  for  the  low  countries,  where  except  the  bare 
rock,  the  whole  surface  may  be  said  to  be  wet,  and  more,  or 
less,  covered  with  water,  but  will  not  do  for  the  extensive 
high  and  dry  Plains,  where,  when  the  warm  season  comes  on, 
they  start  up  in  myriads  a  veritable  full  grown  plague.  We 
must  conclude  that  wherever  they  find  themselves  when  the 
frost  sets  in,  there  they  shelter  themselves  from  the  winter, 
be  the  country  wet  or  dry  ;  and  this  theory  appears  probable, 
for  all  those  countries  where  they  were  in  myriads,  and  which 
are  now  under  cultivation  by  the  plough,  are  in  a  manner 
clear  of  them,  and  also  the  Cities  and  Towns  of  Canada. 
But  in  America  there  always  has  been,  and  will  be  Woods, 
Swamps,    and    rough   ground,    not    fit    for    the   plough,    but 


26       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

admirably  adapted  to  produce  Musketoes,  and  the  Cows 
turned  out  to  graze,  when  they  return  to  be  milked  bring 
with  them  more  than  enough  to  plague  the  farmer.  In 
September  the  Sand  Fly,  and  Midgeuks,  are  numerous,  the 
latter  insinuates  itself  all  over  the  body  ;  the  skin  becomes 
heated  with  itching  ;  these  cease  at  sun  set,  but  remain  until 
the  season  becomes  cold.  October  puts  an  end  to  all  these 
plagues.  It  is  a  curious  fact  [that]  the  farther  to  the  north- 
ward, the  more,  and  more,  numerous  are  all  those  flies,  but 
their  time  is  short. 

While  these  insects  are  so  numerous  they  are  a  terrour  to 
every  creature  on  dry  lands  if  swamps  may  be  so  called,  the 
dogs  howl,  roll  themselves  on  the  ground,  or  hide  themselves 
in  the  water  ;  the  Fox  seems  always  in  a  fighting  humour  ; 
he  barks,  snaps  on  all  sides,  and  however  hungry  and  ready  to 
go  a  birdsnesting,  of  which  he  is  fond,  is  fairly  driven  to  seek 
shelter  in  his  hole.  A  sailor  finding  swearing  of  no  use,  tried 
what  Tar  could  do,  and  covered  his  face  with  it,  but  the 
musketoes  stuck  to  it  in  such  numbers  as  to  blind  him,  and 
the  tickling  of  their  wings  were  worse  than  their  bites  ;  in 
fact  Oil  is  the  only  remedy.  I  was  fortunate  in  passing  my 
time  in  the  company  of  three  gentlemen  the  officers  of  the 
factory,  M'  Jefferson  the  deputy  governor,  M'  Prince  the 
captain  of  the  Sloop,  that  annually  traded  with  the  Esquimaux 
to  the  northward,  and  M"  Hodges  the  Surgeon  ;  ^  they  had 
books  which  they  freely  lent  to  me,  among  them  were  several 
on  history  and  on  animated  nature,  these  were  what  I  paid 
most  attention  to  as  the  most  instructive.  Writing  paper 
there  was  none  but  what  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor, 
and  a  few  sheets  among  the  officers.  On  my  complaining 
that  I  should  lose  my  writing  for  want  of  practice,  M'  Hearne 

^  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  accustomed  to  keep  a  surgeon  or 
doctor  at  each  of  its  most  important  trading  posts  on  Hudson  Bay.  As 
a  rule  these  surgeons  were  young  men  who  remained  only  a  few  years  in 
the  service. 


JOIN    HUDSON'S    BAY   COMPANY         27 

employed  me  a  few  days  on  his  manuscript  entitled  "  A 
journey  to  the  North,"  ^  and  at  another  time  I  copied  an 
Invoice. 

It  had  been  the  custom  for  many  years,  when  the  governors 
of  the  factory  required  a  clerk,  to  send  to  the  school  in  which 
I  was  educated  to  procure  a  Scholar  who  had  a  mathematical 
education  to  send  out  as  Clerk,  and,  to  save  expenses,  he 
was  bound  apprentice  to  them  for  seven  years.  To  learn 
what ;  for  all  I  had  seen  in  their  service  neither  writing  nor 
reading  was  required,  and  my  only  business  was  to  amuse 
myself,  in  winter  growling  at  the  cold  ;  and  in  the  open  season 
shooting  Gulls,  Ducks,  Plover  and  Curlews,  and  quareUing 
with  Musketoes  and  Sand  flies. 

The  Hudsons  Bay  Company  annually  send  out  three  Ships 
to  their  Factories,  which  generally  arrive  at  their  respective 
ports  in  the  latter  end  of  August  or  the  early  part  of  September, 
and  this  year  (1785)  the  Ship  arrived  as  usual.  When  the 
Captain  landed,  I  was  surprised  to  see  with  him  iVF  John 
Charles,^  a  school  fellow  and  of  the  same  age  as  myself,  whom 

^  This  book  was  published  ten  years  later,  and  three  years  after 
Hearne's  death,  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  John  Douglas,  Bishop  of 
Salisbury,  with  the  title  A  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales's  Fort  in  Hudson's 
Bay  to  the  Northern  Ocean,  and  was  republished,  with  introduction  and  notes, 
by  the  Champlain  Society  in  igii.  It  describes  Hearne's  three  journeys 
on  foot  from  Fort  Prince  of  Wales,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Churchill  river, 
to  the  Coppermine  river,  in  the  years  between  1769  and  1772. 

2  Thompson  here  refers  to  George  Charles,  who  came  to  Churchill  in 
1785.  George  Charles  was  in  training  for  the  Company  at  the  Grey  Coat 
School  at  the  time  of  Thompson's  departure  from  it.  In  the  minutes  of 
the  Grey  Coat  School  under  date  of  June  29,  1785,  "  The  Master  reports 
that  there  is  but  one  boy  in  the  School,  viz.  George  Charles,  who  is  under 
instruction  for  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  by  order  of  the 
Treasurer  at  the  desire  and  request  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  John  Allen,  Coach- 
maker,  of  Petty  France,  Westminster."  On  May  20,  1785,  young  Charles, 
who  was  then  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  was  bound  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  the  Grey  Coat  School  paid  the  Company  five  pounds,  and 
four  pounds  more  "  in  lieu  of  instruments."  George  Charles  remained  at 
Churchill,  or  at  the  trading  posts  up  the  Churchill  river,  for  a  number  of 
years,  at  least  until  the  winter  of  1805,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  ever 


28        DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

I  had  left  to  be  bound  out  to  a  trade.  I  enquired  of  him 
what  had  made  him  change  his  mind,  he  informed  me  that 
shortly  after  my  departure,  from  what  he  could  learn  some 
maps  drawn  by  the  fur  traders  of  Canada  had  been  seen  by  M" 
Dalrymple,^  which  showed  the  rivers  and  lakes  for  many 
hundred  miles  to  the  westward  of  Hudsons  Bay.  That  he 
appHed  to  the  Company  to  send  out  a  gentleman  well 
qualified  to  survey  the  interior  country,  all  which  they 
promised  to  do,  and  have  [a]  gentleman  fit  for  that  purpose 

made  any  surveys  of  the  interior  country.  The  work  of  making  a  survey 
as  far  west  as  Lake  Athabaska  was  afterwards  assigned  to  PhiUp  Tumor. 
John  Charles,  with  whose  name  Thompson  appears  to  have  confused 
George  Charles,  was  a  younger  man  who  was  born  in  the  Parish  of  St. 
Margaret,  Westminster,  about  the  year  1785,  and  who  entered  the  service 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  about  1799.  In  181 5-16  he  was  at 
Nelson  House  on  Churchill  river,  and  in  1820  he  was  in  charge  of  New 
Churchill  district,  with  headquarters  at  Indian  lake.  In  1821,  at  the 
union  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  North-West  Companies,  he  was  a  chief 
factor  with  residence  at  the  same  place.  Later  he  was  at  Isle  a  la  Crosse 
in  charge  of  the  English  river  district,  and  in  1833,  when  Sir  George  Back 
conducted  an  exploring  expedition  down  the  Great  Fish  river  to  the 
Arctic  ocean,  he  was  in  charge  of  the  Athabaska  district.  He  retired 
from  active  service  in  the  Company  in  1842.  R.  M.  Ballantyne,  in  his 
Hudson's  Bay,  Edinburgh,  1848,  gives  an  interesting  sketch  of  his  appear- 
ance and  character  under  the  name  of  Carles. 

1  Alexander  Dalrymple  was  Hydrographer  to  the  Admiralty  from  1795, 
when  the  post  was  created,  until  a  few  weeks  before  his  death  in  1808. 
He  was  born  in  Scotland  on  July  24,  1737,  and  when  fifteen  years  of  age 
went  to  India  in  the  service  of  the  East  India  Company.  For  twenty- 
eight  years  he  remained  in  the  East  ;  then  he  returned  to  England,  and 
during  the  next  ten  years  he  published  a  number  of  books  and  papers, 
chiefly  relating  to  geography  and  travel.  Towards  the  end  of  this  time  he 
was  appointed  Hydrographer  to  the  East  India  Company.  He  criti- 
cized Hearne's  geographical  work  on  his  journey  to  the  Coppennine 
river ;  and  he  seems  to  have  been  largely  instrumental  in  having  Philip 
Turner  sent  out  to  determine  the  extent  and  correct  position  of  Lake 
Athabaska.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  understand  Thompson's  reference 
to  him  in  the  text.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  any  map  drawn  by  the  Cana- 
dian fur-traders  had  been  seen  by  him  before  1785.  It  is  generally 
assumed  that  the  map  made  by  Peter  Pond,  in  or  about  the  year  1785, 
which  showed  Lake  Athabaska  much  too  far  west  and  too  near  the  Pacific 
ocean,  is  the  one  which  incited  Dalrymple  to  urge  fuller  surveys  of  that 
lake  and  its  vicinity. 


JOIN    HUDSON'S    BAY    COMPANY  29 

to  go  out  with  their  ships  next  year  ;  they  accordingly  sent 
to  the  School  to  have  one  ready.  As  he  was  the  only  one 
of  age,  he  was  placed  in  the  mathematical  School,  run  quickly 
over  his  studies,  for  which  he  had  no  wish  to  learn,  for  three 
days,  for  a  few  minutes  each  day,  taught  to  handle  Hadley's 
quadrant,  and  bring  down  the  Sun  to  a  chalk  mark  on  the 
wall  [and]  his  education  was  complete,  and  pronounced  fit  for 
the  duties  he  had  to  perform  ;  he  was  very  much  disappointed 
at  all  he  saw,  but  he  could  not  return.  Hudson's  Bay,  is 
certainly  a  country  that  Sinbad  the  Sailor  never  saw,  as  he 
makes  no  mention  of  Musketoes. 


CHAPTER    II 

LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST   ON   HUDSON'S   BAY 

Orders  to  set  out  for  Tork  Factory — Packet  Indians — Leave 
Churchill — West  shore  of  HudsorCs  Bay — Meet  several 
Polar  Bears — Indian  superstitions  regarding  Polar  Bears — 
Cross  Nelson  River  and  arrive  at  Tork  Factory — Great 
Marsh — Shooting  wild  Geese — Southward  migration  of  Geese 
— Orders  of  the  Manito — Cranes  and  Bitterns — Life  at 
Tork  Factory — Shif  arrives  and  leaves — Winter  sets  in — 
Hunting  parties — Depart  for  Factory — Unwelcome  visitor — 
His  death — Wrath  of  Indian  Woman — Polar  Bear  in  a 
trap — Speckled  Frout — Hares — White  grouse  or  ptarmigan 
— Feeding  ground — Netting  grouse — Feathers  of  grouse — 
Pine  Grouse — Pheasants — Snow  Bunting — Fomtit — Cross 
beak  —  Whiskeyjack  —  Raven — White  Fox  —  Hawks  and 
Foxes — Snow  blindness. 

EARLY  in  September  the  annual  Ship  arrived,  and 
orders  were  sent  for  me  to  proceed  directly  to  York 
Factory,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
to  the  southward.^  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  estab- 
lished a  very  useful  line  of  communication  between  their 
several  Factories  by  means  of  what  were  called,  Packet  Indians, 
these  were  each  of  two  Indian  men,  who  left  each  Factory 
with  letters  to  arrive  at  the  next  Factory  about  the  expected 
time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Ship  at  such  Factory,  and  thus  the 
safe  arrival  of  these  annual  Ships,  and  the  state  of  the  Factories 

1  Thompson  was  at  this  time  fifteen  years  of  age. 
30 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  31 

became  known  to  each  other,  and  assistance  was  given  where 
required.  The  Boat  from  Churchill  Factory  crossed  the 
River  with  the  two  Packet  Indians  and  myself  to  Cape 
Churchill,  and  landed  us  without  any  Provisions,  and  only 
one  blanket  to  cover  me  at  night ;  for  we  had  to  carry  every- 
thing :  it  was  a  very  fine  day  ;  but  unfortunately  a  gallon 
of  very  strong  Grog  was  given  to  these  Indians,  who  as  usual, 
as  soon  as  they  landed,  began  drinking,  and  were  soon  drunk 
and  the  day  lost ;  we  slept  on  the  ground  each  in  his  single 
blanket,  the  dew  was  heavy  :  Early  in  the  morning  we  set  off 
and  continued  our  march  to  sunset,  without  breakfast  or 
dinner ;  the  Indians  now  shot  one  Goose  ^  and  three  stock 
Ducks. ^  We  came  to  something  like  a  dry  spot,  and  stopped  for 
the  night  with  plenty  of  drift  wood  for  fuel ;  the  three  Ducks 
were  soon  picked,  stuck  on  a  stick  to  roast  at  the  fire  ;  mean- 
time the  Goose  was  picked,  and  put  to  roast.  Each  of  us  had 
a  Duck,  and  the  Goose  among  us  three.  Our  march  all  day 
had  been  on  the  marshy  beach  of  the  Bay,  which  made  it 
fatigueing  ;  and  directly  after  supper,  each  wrapped  himself 
in  his  blanket  and  slept  soundly  on  the  ground  :  the  banks 
of  the  Brooks  were  the  only  kind  of  dry  ground.  The  inci- 
dents of  every  day  were  so  much  the  same  that  I  shall  make 
one  story  of  the  whole  :  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth  day  we 
arrived  at  Kisiskatchewan  River,  a  bold,  deep,  stream  of 
two  miles  in  width  ;  we  put  up  on  the  bank  of  a  Brook,  where 
my  companions  had  laid  up  a  Canoe,  but  the  wind  blowing 
fresh  we  could  not  proceed.  Our  line  of  march  had  con- 
stantly been  along  the  Bay  side,  at  high  water  mark,  always 
wet  and  muddy,  tiresome  walking  and  very  duU ;  on  the 
left  hand  was  the  sea,  which  when  the  tide  was  in  appeared 
deep,  but  the  Ebb  retired  to  such  a  distance,  that  the  Sea 
was  not  visible  and  showed  an  immense  surface  of  Mud  with 
innumerable  boulders  of  rock,  from  one  to  five  or  seven  tons 

^  Probably  Branta  canadensis  hutchinsi  (Rich.).      [E.  A.  P.] 
2  Mallard,  Anas  platyrhynchos  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 


32        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

weight,  the  greatest  part  were  lodged  at  about  half  tide, 
where  the  greatest  part  of  the  drift  ice  remains  on  the  shore  ; 
as  Seal  River,  north  of  Churchill  River,  is  the  most  southern 
place  where  the  shore  is  of  Rock,  the  whole  of  these  boulders 
must  have  come  with  the  ice  from  the  northward  of  that 
River,  for  south  of  it,  and  of  Churchill  River  all  is  alluvial ; 
this  evidently  shows  a  strong  set  of  the  north  sea  into  Hudson's 
Bay  on  it's  west  side,  returning  by  the  east  side  into  Hudson's 
Straits  ;  for  these  boulders  are  found  on  the  west  side  shores 
to  the  most  southern  part  of  the  Bay.  On  our  right  hand 
was  an  immense  extent  of  alluvial  in  marsh,  morass,  and 
numerous  ponds  of  water,  which  furnished  water  to  many 
small  Brooks ;  the  woods,  such  as  they  are,  were  out  of  sight. 
Every  day  we  passed  from  twelve  to  fifteen  Polar  Bears, 
lying  on  the  marsh,  a  short  distance  from  the  shore,  they  were 
from  three  to  five  together,  their  heads  close  to  each  other, 
and  their  bodies  lying  as  radii  from  a  centre.  I  enquired  of 
the  Indians  if  the  Polar  Bears  always  lay  in  that  form,  they 
said,  it  was  the  common  manner  in  which  they  lie.  As  we 
passed  them,  one,  or  two  would  lift  up  their  heads  and  look 
at  us,  but  never  rose  to  molest  us.  The  indian  rule  is  to 
wallc  past  them  with  a  steady  step  without  seeming  to  notice 
them.  On  the  sixth  day  we  had  a  deep  Brook  to  cross,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ford  was  a  large  Polar  Bear  feasting 
on  a  Beluga,  we  boldly  took  the  ford  thinking  the  bear  would 
go  away,  but  when  [we  were]  about  half  way  across,  he  lifted 
his  head,  placed  his  fore  paws  on  the  Beluga,  and  uttering  a 
loud  growl,  showed  to  us  such  a  sett  of  teeth  as  made  us 
turn  up  the  stream,  and  for  fifty  yards  wade  up  to  our  middle 
before  we  could  cross  ;  during  this  time  the  Bear  eyed  us, 
growling  like  a  Mastiff  Dog.  During  the  time  we  were 
waiting  [for]  the  wind  to  calm,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  Indian  superstition  on  the  Polar  Bear ;  on  one  of  these 
days  we  noticed  a  Polar  Bear  prowling  about  in  the  ebb  tide, 
the  Indians  set  off  to  kill  it  as  the  skin  could  be  taken  to  the 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  33 

Factory  in  the  Canoe  ;  when  the  Bear  was  shot,  before  they 
could  skin  him  and  cut  off  his  head,  the  tide  was  coming  in, 
which  put  them  in  danger,  they  left  the  skin  to  float  ashore, 
and  seizing  the  head,  each  man  having  hold  of  an  ear,  with 
their  utmost  speed  in  the  mud  brought  the  head  to  land, 
the  tide  was  up  to  their  knees  when  they  reached  the  shore  ; 
on  the  first  grass  they  laid  down  the  head,  with  the  nose  to 
the  sea,  which  they  made  red  with  ochre ;  then  made  a 
speech  to  the  Manito  of  the  Bears,  that  he  would  be  kind  to 
them  as  they  had  performed  all  his  orders,  had  brought  the 
head  of  the  Bear  ashore,  and  placed  it  with  it's  nose  to  the 
sea,  begging  him  to  make  the  skin  float  ashore,  which,  at  the 
Factory  would  sell  for  three  pints  of  Brandy  ;  the  Manito 
had  no  intention  that  they  should  get  drunk,  the  skin  did 
not  float  ashore  and  was  lost.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  third 
day  the  wind  calmed,  the  Indians  told  me  at  Noon  that  we 
had  staid  there  too  long,  that  they  would  now  sing  and  calm 
the  wind,  for  their  song  had  great  power  ;  they  sung  for  about 
half  an  hour  ;  and  then  said  to  me,  you  see  the  wind  is 
calming,  such  is  the  power  of  our  song.  I  was  hurt  at  their 
pretensions  and  replied  ;  you  see  the  Ducks,  the  Plover  and 
other  Birds,  follow  the  ebb  tide,  they  know  the  wind  is  calming 
without  your  song  :  if  you  possess  such  power  why  did  you 
not  sing  on  the  first  day  of  our  being  here.  They  gave  no 
answer,  it  is  a  sad  weakness  of  the  human  character,  and  [one] 
which  is  constantly  found,  more,  or  less,  in  the  lower  orders 
of  thinly  populated  countries  ;  they  all  possess,  if  we  may 
credit  them,  some  superhuman  power.  The  Ebb  tide  had 
now  retired  about  one  and  a  half  mile  from  us.  Near  sunset, 
each  of  us  cut  a  bundle  of  small  willows,  and  with  the  Canoe 
and  paddles,  carried  them  about  a  mile,  when  we  laid  the 
Canoe  down,  spread  the  wiUows  on  the  mud,  and  laid  down 
to  await  the  return  of  the  tide ;  as  soon  as  it  reached  us,  we 
got  into  the  canoe,  and  proceeded  up  the  Kisiskatchewan 
River  for  several  miles,  then  crossed  to  the  south  shore  and 


84        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

landed  at  a  path  ^  of  four  miles  in  length  through  woods  of 
small  pines,  on  low,  wet,  marsh  ground  to  York  Factory, 
thank  good  Providence.^ 

I  now  return  to  the  great  marsh  along  which  we  travelled. 
The  aquatic  fowl  in  the  seasons  of  spring  and  autumn  are 
very  numerous.  They  seem  to  confine  themselves  to  a  belt 
of  these  great  marshes,  of  about  two  miles  in  width  from  the 
seashore,  and  this  belt  is  mostly  covered  with  small  ponds ; 
and  the  intervals  have  much  short  tender  grass,  which  serves 
for  food,  the  interior  of  the  marsh  has  too  much  moss.  Of 
these  fowls  the  wild  geese  are  the  most  numerous  and  the 
most  valuable,  and  of  these  the  grey  goose,^  of  which  there 
are  four  species,  and  the  brent  goose,*  a  lesser  species  of  the 
gray  goose,  it's  feathers  are  darker  and  it's  cry  different.  Of 
the  Snow  Geese  *  there  are  three  varieties,  the  least  of  which 
is  of  a  blueish  color,*  they  are  all  somewhat  less  than  the  gray 
geese,  but  of  richer  meat.  It  may  be  remarked  that  of  wild 
fowl,  the  darker  the  feather,  the  lighter  the  color  of  the 
meat ;  and  the  whiter  the  feather,  the  darker  the  meat,  as 
the  Snow  Goose  and  the  Swan  &c.  The  shooting  of  the  wild 
Geese,  (or  as  it  is  called,  the  hunt)  is  of  great  importance  to 
the  Factories  not  only  for  present  fresh  meat,  but  also 
[because  it]  forms  a  supply  of  Provisions  for  a  great  part  of 
the  winter  ;   the  gray  geese  are  the  first  to  arrive  in  the  early 

^  This  path  or  track  is  still  used  in  crossing  from  the  Nelson  to  the 
Hayes  river  at  York  Factory,  but  the  land  is  so  wet  and  boggy  that  it  is 
always  avoided  when  it  is  possible  to  go  round  the  point  of  marsh  be- 
tween the  two  rivers  in  canoes. 

*  Thompson  arrived  at  York  Factory  about  September  15,  and  on 
that  date  the  following  entry  was  made  in  the  books  of  the  Company : 
"  Gave  as  a  gratuity  to  the  two  Indians,  for  the  care  they  have  taken  of 
David  Thompson, 

"  brandy  3  gals.  16  MB. 

"tobacco  4  lbs.  4MB." 

^  Branta  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Probably  Branta  c.  hutchinsi  (Richardson).     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Chen  h.  nivalis  (Forster).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Probably  Blue  Goose,  Chen  ccerulescens  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  35 

part  of  May  ;  the  Snow  geese  arrive  about  ten  days  after. 
About  ten  of  the  best  shots  of  the  men  of  the  Factory,  with 
several  Indians,  are  now  sent  to  the  marshes  to  shoot  them. 
For  this  purpose  each  man  has  always  two  guns,  each  makes 
what  is  called  a  Stand,  this  is  composed  of  drift  wood  and 
pine  branches,  about  three  feet  high,  six  feet  in  diameter, 
and  half  round  in  form,  to  shelter  himself  from  the  weather 
and  the  view  of  the  geese  ;  each  Stand  is  about  120  yards 
from  the  other,  or  more,  and  forms  a  hne  on  the  usual  passage 
of  the  geese,  [which  is]  always  near  the  sea  shore  ;  two,  or 
three,  parties  are  formed,  as  circumstances  may  direct ;  each 
hunter  has  about  ten  mock  geese,  which  are  sticks  made  and 
painted  to  resemble  the  head  and  neck  of  the  gray  goose, 
to  which  is  added  a  piece  of  canvas  for  a  body.  They  are 
placed  about  twenty  yards  from  the  Stands,  with  their  beaks 
to  windward  :  the  position  in  which  the  geese  feed.  When 
the  geese  first  arrive,  they  readily  answer  to  the  call  of  the 
Hunter.  The  Indians  imitate  them  so  well  that  they  would 
alight  among  the  mock  geese,  if  the  shots  of  the  hunter  did 
not  prevent  them.  The  geese  are  all  shot  on  the  wing  ;  they 
are  too  shy,  and  the  marsh  too  level,  to  be  approached.  Some 
good  shots,  in  the  spring  hunt,  kill  from  70  to  90  geese,  but 
the  general  average  is  from  40  to  50  geese  p*^  man,  as  the 
season  may  be.  The  Snow  Goose  is  very  unsteady  on  the 
wing,  now  high,  now  low,  they  are  hard  to  hit,  they  seldom 
answer  to  our  call,  but  the  Indians  imitate  them  well ;  for 
the  spring,  they  answer  the  call,  but  do  not  notice  it  in 
autumn  ;  for  the  table,  the  Snow  Goose  is  the  richest  bird 
that  flies.  The  feathers  of  the  geese  are  taken  care  of  and 
sent  to  London,  where  they  command  a  ready  sale.  The 
feathers  of  four  grey  geese,  and  of  five  Snow  geese  weigh  one 
pound.  The  duration  of  their  stay  depends  much  on  the 
weather  ;  a  month  at  the  most,  and  seldom  less  than  three 
weeks.  The  flight  of  the  geese  is  from  daylight  to  about 
8  AM.  and  from  5  pm.  to  dusk.     By  the  end  of  May,  or  the 


36       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

first  week  in  June,  the  geese  have  all  left  us  for  their  breeding 
places,  much  farther  to  the  northward.  In  the  spring  several 
of  the  Geese  are  found  with  wild  rice  in  their  crops. ^  The 
wild  rice  grows  in  abundance  to  the  south  westward  ;  the 
nearest  place  to  York  Factory  are  the  small  Lakes  at  the 
mouth  of  the  River  Winipeg,  distant  about  420  miles.  When 
M"  Wales  was  at  Fort  Churchill  in  1769  to  observe  the 
transit  of  Venus  over  the  Sun,^  from  curiosity  he  several 
times  took  angles  of  the  swiftnes  of  the  wild  geese  and  found 
that  in  a  steady  gale  of  wind,  their  flight  before  it  was  sixty 
miles  an  hour.  When  shooting  at  them  going  before  a  gale 
of  wind,  at  the  distance  of  40  to  50  yards,  the  aim  is  taken 
two  or  three  inches  before  his  beak.  When  going  against  the 
wind,  at  the  insertion  of  the  neck.  In  the  middle  of  July 
several  flocks  of  a  very  large  species  of  grey  goose  arrived 
from  the  southward,  they  have  a  deep  harsh  note,  and  are 
called  Gronkers,  by  others  Barren  Geese,^  from  its  being  sup- 
posed they  never  lay  eggs.  If  so,  how  is  this  species  propa- 
gated, they  very  seldom  ahght  in  our  marshes  ;  but  as  they 
fly  low  a  few  of  them  are  shot.  Their  meat  is  Hke  that  of 
the  common  gray  goose.  I  do  not  remember  seeing  these 
geese  in  autumn.  In  the  spring  all  the  geese,  ducks  and  other 
fowls  come  from  the  southward  ;  in  autumn  they  all  come 
from  the  northward.  Their  first  arrival  is  in  the  early  part 
of  September,  and  their  stay  about  three  weeks.  They  keep 
arriving,  night  and  day,  and  our  solitary  marshes  become 
covered  with  noisy,  animated  Hfe.  The  same  mode  of  shoot- 
ing them,  is  now  as  in  the  spring,  but  they  do  not  answer  the 
call  so  well,  and  the  average  number  each  man  may  kiU  is 
from  25  to  30  geese  for  the  season.     The  geese  salted  of  the 

1  In  1895,  while  exploring  the  country  east  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  I  found 
wild  rice  growing  in  some  of  the  small  streams  as  far  north  as  latitude 
53°,  or  only  350  miles  south-west  of  York  Factory. 

*  See  note  on  p.  9. 

=*  Probably  barren  individuals  of  the  Canada  Goose,  Branta  cana- 
densis (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  87 

spring  hunt,  are  better  than  those  of  autumn ;  they  are 
fatter,  and  more  firm,  those  salted  in  Autumn  are  only  be- 
ginning to  be  fat,  which,  with  young  geese,  in  this  state,  make 
poor  salted  food.  In  autumn,  the  last  three  days  of  the  geese 
appear  to  be  wholly  given  in  cleaning  and  adjusting  every 
feather  of  every  part,  instead  of  feeding  at  pleasure  every- 
where ;  the  Manito  of  the  geese,  ducks  and  other  fowls  had 
given  his  orders,  they  collect,  and  form  flocks  of,  from  40  to 
60,  or  more ;  and  seem  to  have  leaders  ;  the  Manito  of  the 
aquatic  fowl  has  now  given  his  orders  for  their  departure  to 
milder  climates ;  his  presence  sees  the  setting  in  of  winter, 
and  the  freezing  of  the  ponds  &c.  The  leaders  of  the  flock 
have  now  a  deep  note.  The  order  is  given,  and  flock  after 
flock,  in  innumerable  numbers,  rise.  Their  flight  is  of  a 
regular  form,  making  an  angle  of  about  25  degrees ;  the  two 
sides  of  the  angle  are  unequal,  that  side  next  to  the  sea  being 
more  than  twice  the  length  of  the  side  next  to  the  land  ; 
where  I  have  counted  30  geese  on  one  side,  the  short  side 
has  only  ten  to  twelve,  and  so  in  proportion  ;  the  point  of 
the  angle  is  a  single  goose,  which  leads  the  flock ;  when  tired 
of  opening  the  air,  [it]  falls  into  the  rear  of  the  short  line, 
and  the  goose  next  on  the  long,  or  sea,  line,  takes  his  place, 
and  thus  in  succession.  Thus  in  two,  or  three  days,  these 
extensive  marshes,  swarming  with  noisy  life,  become  silent, 
and  wholly  deserted  ;  except  when  wounded,  no  instance  has 
ever  been  known  of  geese,  or  ducks,  being  found  in  frozen 
ponds,  or  Lakes.  The  Svv^an  is  sometimes  frozen  in,  and  loses 
his  life. 

The  different  species  of  Geese  on  the  east  side  of  the 
[Rocky]  Mountains  pass  the  winter  in  the  mild  climate  of  the 
Floridas,  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippe,  and  around  the 
Gulph  of  Mexico,  from  these  shores  the  wild  Geese  and  Swans 
proceed  to  the  northward  as  far  as  the  Latitude  of  d'j  to  69 
north,  where  they  have  the  benefit  of  the  Sun's  light  and  heat 
for  the  twenty  four  hours  for  incubation,  and  rarely  breed 


38       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

under  twenty  hours  of  Sunlight.  These  wild  birds  proceed, 
through  the  pathless  air,  from  where  they  winter  to  where 
they  breed,  a  distance  of  about  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
miles,  in  a  straight  line ;  and  from  the  place  of  breeding  to 
the  mouths  of  the  Mississippe,  and  adjacent  shores  the  same 
distance.  The  question  arises,  by  what  means  do  the  wild 
geese  make  such  long  journeys  with  such  precision  of  place  ; 
the  wise,  and  learned,  civiHzed  man  answers,  by  Instinct,  but 
what  is  Instinct  :  a  property  of  mind  that  has  never  been 
defined.  The  Indian  beHeves  the  geese  are  directed  by  the 
Manito,  who  has  the  care  of  them.  Which  of  the  two  is 
right. 

The  Frogs  ^  now  cease  to  croak  ;  for  they  must  also  prepare 
for  winter.  A  few  Cranes  ^  frequent  these  marshes,  as  also  a 
few  Bitterns.^  They  pass  the  whole  of  the  open  season  in 
pairs,  yet  their  eggs  are  never,  or  very  rarely  found,  they  are 
so  well  hid  in  the  rushes  of  quagmires  which  cannot  be  ap- 
proached. The  Bittern  arrives  and  departs  in  pairs  mostly 
in  the  night,  it  is  a  bird  of  slow  wing,  easy  to  be  kiUed.  The 
Cranes  arrive,  and  depart  in  flocks  of  thirty  to  fifty,  their 
flight  is  an  angle  of  fuU  thirty  degrees,  both  sides  [of  which] 
are  nearly  equal ;  I  have  never  seen  the  leader  quit  his  place. 
They  are  good  eating,  fleshy,  but  not  fat.  They  make  the 
best  of  broth  :  the  ducks  and  lesser  birds  arrive  and  depart 
in  flocks,  but  in  no  regular  order. 

The  society  and  occupations  of  the  Factories  along  the 
shores  of  Hudson's  Bay  are  so  much  alike,  that  the  description 
of  one  Factory  may  serve  for  all  the  others.  I  shall  describe 
York  Factory,  being  the  principal  Factory  and  in  point  of 
commerce  worth  aU  the  other  Factories.*     The  establishment 

1  Rana  cantabrigensis  latiremis  Cope.     [E.  A.  P.] 

■  Grus  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

3  Botaurus  lentiginosus  (Montagu).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  York  Factory  is  situated  on  the  top  of  a  cliff  of  clay  thirty  feet  high, 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hayes  river,  five  miles  above  its  mouth.  Oppo- 
site to  it  the  water  in  the  river  is  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  in  depth,  quite 


fl 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  39 

was  composed  of  a  Resident,  an  Assistant,  with  one,  or  two 

clerks,  a  Steward  and  about  forty  men,  over  whom  there  was 

a  foreman.     The  Ship  for  the  Factory  arrives  generally  about 

the  latter  end  of  August,  sometimes  later,  this  depends  on 

their  passage  through  Hudson's  Straits,  which  in  some  years 

sufficiently  deep  for  small  ships  or  sloops  of  moderate  draught,  but  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  are  extensive  flats  over  which  it  is  difficult  to  pass, 
except  at  high  tide,  and  over  which  the  sea-going  ships  that  bring  the 
supphes  from  England  to  York  Factory  do  not  attempt  to  cross. 

At  the  present  time  the  Factory  consists  of  a  series  of  buildings  ar- 
ranged around  a  quadrangle,  some  of  which  are  large  stores  or  warehouses, 
while  others  are  residences  for  the  masters  and  employees  engaged  there. 
The  present  buildings,  or  more  probably  smaller  ones  which  preceded 
them,  were  erected  by  Joseph  Colen  in  1789  and  the  following  years,  the 
central  "  depot  "  having  been  built  some  time  in  the  early  part  of  last 
century. 

Old  York  Fort  was  situated  about  half  a  mile  below  the  present  fort 
on  the  same  side  of  the  river,  and  it  was  to  this  fort  that  Thompson 
came  when  he  arrived  from  Churchill  in  1785.  Previous  to  that  time  it 
had  been  occupied  by  the  English  and  French  alternately  for  about  a 
hundred  years,  until  1782,  when  it  was  taken  by  the  French  under  Admiral 
de  la  Perouse,  and  was  burned  to  the  ground,  and  the  English  inhabi- 
tants were  carried  captive  to  France. 

In  the  following  year  it  was  rebuilt  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
and  from  that  time  was  occupied  for  several  years  ;  but  in  the  spring  of 
1788  the  ground  on  which  it  stood  was  flooded  to  a  depth  of  several  feet, 
and  Joseph  Colen,  who  was  in  charge  at  the  time,  determined  that  he 
would  move  it  to  a  higher  situation.  Accordingly,  shortly  afterwards,  he 
commenced  to  build  the  fort  on  its  present  site,  and  by  1792  the  moving 
was  completed,  and  the  men  with  their  goods  and  supplies  were  all  at 
the  new  fort. 

Until  the  building  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  across  the  con- 
tinent in  1885,  the  trading  goods  for  the  whole  of  the  interior  of  the 
western  country  from  Hudson  Bay  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  even 
beyond  these  mountains,  were  brought  here  from  England,  whence  they 
were  distributed  by  canoes  or  boats  throughout  the  interior  country,  and 
the  same  boats  which  took  the  supplies  into  the  country  brought  back  to 
York  Factory  loads  of  furs  which  were  carried  to  England  and  were  dis- 
posed of  in  the  markets  of  London. 

Since  the  building  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  over  which  trading 
goods  and  furs  can  be  easily  carried  in  and  out  of  the  country,  the  im- 
portance of  York  Factory  £is  a  centre  of  distribution  has  greatly  decreased, 
until  now  it  is  merely  a  distributing  point  for  a  few  small  fur-trading  stations 
within  a  radius  of  a  few  hundred  miles  that  as  yet  have  no  easier  and 
more  rapid  mode  of  access  to  the  civilized  world. 


40        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

is  sadly  blocked  up  with  ice ;  the  Ship  anchors  in  the  mouth 
of  the  River,  about  five  miles  below  the  Factory,  the  whole 
attention  of  all  hands  is  turned  with  unloading,  and  reloading 
of  the  Ship  ;  the  time  of  doing  which,  depends  on  the  weather, 
and  takes  from  ten  to  fifteen  days.  The  ship  having  sailed 
for  London,  this  may  be  called  the  beginning  of  our  year. 
The  regular  occupations  of  the  Factory  now  commence ; 
eight  or  ten  of  the  best  shots  among  us,  among  which  are  sure 
to  be  the  clerks,  with  the  few  Indians  that  may  be  near,  are 
sent  off  to  the  marshes  to  shoot  geese,  ducks,  cranes  &c  for 
the  present  supply  of  the  Factory,  and  to  be  salted  for  the 
winter.  Axes  are  put  in  order.  Boats  got  ready  with  Pro- 
visions, and  about  twenty  men  sent  up  the  River  to  the 
nearest  forests  to  cut  down  pine  trees,  branch  them,  lop  off 
the  heads,  and  carry  them  on  their  shoulders  to  the  great 
wood  pile,  near  the  river  bank  ;  the  trees  are  so  small  that  a 
man  generally  carries  two,  or  three,  to  the  wood  pile.  When 
the  quantity  required  for  fuel,  is  thus  cut  and  piled,  the  wood 
is  taken  by  a  large  sledge  drawn  by  the  men  to  a  bay  of  the 
River,  where  rafts  can  be  made  and  floated  to  the  Factory, 
which  is  completed  in  April,  but  not  floated  to  the  Factory 
until  June  and  July.  Accounts,  Books,  grouse  shooting  &c 
employ  the  time  of  those  at  the  Factory.  Winter  soon  sets 
in  ;  the  geese  hunters  return,  and  out  of  them  are  formed  two 
parties  of  three  or  four  men,  each  for  grouse  shooting,  snare- 
ing  hares  &c.  Each  party  has  a  canvas  tent,  Kke  a  soldier's 
bell  tent  with  the  top  cut  off  to  let  the  smoke  out.  Fowling 
pieces,  ammunition,  fish  hooks  and  lines,  steel  traps  and  three 
weeks  of  salted  provisions,  with  our  bedding  of  blankets  &c 
completes  our  equipment.  The  shore  ice  of  the  River  is 
now  frozen  to  the  width  of  half  a  mile,  or  more  ;  the  current 
of  the  River  has  much  drift  ice,  it  is  time  for  the  hunters  to 
be  off,  the  boats  are  ready,  and  we  are  placed  on  the  ice,  with 
four  flat  sleds,  and  a  fine  large  Newfoundland  Dog  ;  the 
Boats  return  and  we  are  left  to  our  exertions.     Our  party 


LIFE    AT   A   TRADING    POST  41 

consisted  of  four  men  and  an  Indian  woman.  We  loaded  the 
sleds  with  the  tent,  our  baggage  and  some  provisions,  leaving 
the  rest  for  another  trip,  each  of  us  hauled  about  seventy 
pounds  and  the  fine  dog  lOO  pounds  weight.  We  proceeded 
to  a  large  Brook,  called  French  Creek,^  up  which  we  went 
about  a  mile  to  where  the  Pines  of  the  forest  were  of  some 
size  and  clean  growth ;  the  tent  poles  were  now  cut,  and 
placed  to  form  a  circular  area  of  about  12  to  14  feet  diameter 
and  12  feet  in  heighth  ;  the  door  poles  are  the  strongest, 
about  these  poles  we  wrapped  our  tents,  the  fire  place  is  in 
the  centre,  and  our  beds  of  pine  branches,  with  a  Log  next 
to  the  fire.  Our  furniture  [was]  a  three  gallon  brass  kettle, 
with  a  lesser  one  for  water,  two,  or  three  tin  dishes,  spoons  &c. 
A  Hoard  is  next  made  of  Logs  well  notched  into  each  other 
of  about  eight  feet  in  length,  six  feet  wide  at  the  bottom, 
five  feet  in  height,  and  the  top  narrowed  to  two  feet  covered 
with  Logs  to  secure  our  provisions  and  game  from  the 
carnivorous  animals.  Our  occupations  were  angHng  of  Trout,^ 
snareing  of  Hares, ^  shooting  white  Grouse,*  trapping  of 
Martens,^  Foxes  ®  and  Wolverines.''  Our  enemy  the  Polar  Bear, 
was  prowHng  about,  the  sea  not  being  sufficiently  frozen  to 
allow  him  to  catch  Seals. 

By  the  latter  end  of  November  we  had  procured  sufficient 
game  to  load  three  flat  sleds,  for  the  Factory,  hauled  by  two  of 
us  and  our  Dog.  To  arrive  at  the  Factory  took  us  the  whole 
of  the  day  The  same  evening  W""  Budge,  a  fine  handsome 
man,  John  Alellam,  and  the  Indian  woman  were  frying  pork 

^  French  Creek  is  below  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  Hayes  river  from 
York  Factory,  and  is  seven  miles  distant  from  it  in  a  direct  line.  Its 
Indian  name  is  Notawatowi  Sipi,  meaning  "  The  Creek-from-which-you- 
f  etch-the-people . ' ' 

"^  Cristivomer  naniaycush  (\Valbaum).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Lepus  americanus  Erxleben.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Ptarmigan,  Lagopus  albus  and  L.  rupestris.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Martes  americana  ahieticola  (Preble).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Alopex  lagopus  inmtitus  (Merriam).     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Gulo  luscus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


42       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  grouse  for  supper,  [when]  the  smell  attracted  a  Polar 
Bear,  who  marched  to  the  Tent,  and  around  it,  his  heavy 
tread  was  heard,  and  no  more  cooking  thought  of.  As  usual 
in  the  evening,  the  fowling  pieces  were  being  washed  and 
cleaned,  and  were  then  not  lit  for  use,  but  there  was  a  loaded 
musquet.  At  length  Bruin  found  the  door,  and  thrust  in  his 
head  and  neck,  the  Tent  Poles  prevented  further  entrance. 
Budge  cHmbed  up  the  tent  poles  and  left  Mellam  and  his 
indian  woman  to  fight  the  Bear,  the  former  snatched  up  the 
Musket,  it  snapped  ;  seizing  it  by  the  muzzle  he  broke  ojff  the 
stock  on  the  head  of  the  Bear,  and  then  with  hearty  blows 
appHed  the  barrel  and  lock  to  his  head  ;  the  indian  woman 
caught  up  her  axe  on  the  other  side  of  the  door,  and  in  Hke 
manner  struck  Bruin  on  the  head,  such  an  incessant  storm  of 
blows,  [as]  made  him  withdraw  himself ;  he  went  to  the 
Hoard  and  began  to  tear  it  in  pieces,  for  the  game  ;  a  fowling 
piece  was  quickly  dried,  loaded  with  two  balls,  and  fired  into 
him,  the  wound  was  mortal,  he  went  a  few  paces  and  fell, 
with  a  dreadful  growl.  Budge  now  wanted  to  descend  from 
the  smoky  top  of  the  Tent,  but  the  Woman  with  her  axe  in 
her  hand  (a-J-  lbs)  heaped  wood  on  the  fire,  and  threatened  to 
brain  him  if  he  came  down.  ?Ie  begged  hard  for  his  Hfe,  she 
was  determined,  fortunately  Mellam  snatched  the  axe  from 
her,  but  she  never  forgave  him,  for  the  indian  woman  pardons 
Man  for  everything  but  want  of  courage,  this  is  her  sole 
support  and  protection,  there  are  no  laws  to  defend  her. 
The  next  morning  on  examining  the  head  of  the  Bear,  the 
skin  was  much  bruised  and  cut,  but  the  bone  had  not  a  mark 
on  it.  We  had  two  steel  traps  of  double  springs,  with  strong 
iron  teeth,  weighing  each  seventy  pounds,  and  five  feet  in 
length,  for  Wolves  ^  and  Wolverines  :  one  of  these  was  baited 
with  a  Grouse,  and  placed  on  the  ice  at  the  mouth  of  the 
brook,  a  Polar  Bear  took  the  bait,  the  iron  teeth  closed  on  his 
head,  he  went  about  half  [a]  mile  and  then  laid  down  ;    the 

*  Canis  occidentalis  Richardson.     [E.  A,  P.] 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  43 

next  morning  we  traced  the  Bear,  he  rose  up,  a  curious  looking 
figure  with  a  trap  of  five  feet  across  his  nose,  he  went  directly 
for  the  sea,  and  we  respectfully  followed  ;  our  guns  had  only 
small  shot ;  when  arrived  at  the  edge  of  the  ice.  Bruin  made 
a  halt,  and  no  doubt  thought  such  a  trap  across  his  nose 
would  be  an  impediment  to  swimming,  and  catching  Seals, 
wisely  determined  to  get  rid  of  it,  turning  round  and  looking 
at  us,  he  bent  his  head  and  the  trap  on  the  ice,  and  placing 
his  heavy  fore  paws  on  each  of  the  springs,  he  loosened  himself 
from  the  trap,  and  looking  at  us  with  an  air  of  contempt, 
dashed  into  the  sea,  and  swam  away.  We  got  the  trap,  but 
his  heavy  paws  had  broken  one  of  the  springs  and  rendered 
the  trap  useless.  The  other  hunting  party  about  three  miles 
to  the  eastward  of  us  had  also  the  visit  of  a  Polar  Bear ;  one 
evening  from  the  smell  of  fried  pork  and  grouse,  he  came  to 
the  tent,  marched  round,  and  round  it,  but  found  no  entrance, 
his  heavy  tread  warned  the  inmates  to  be  on  their  guard. 
The  bear  reared  himself  up  on  the  tent,  he  placed  the  claws 
of  his  fore  paws  through  the  canvas,  the  man  opposite  ready 
with  his  gun,  guided  by  his  paws,  fired  and  mortally  wounded 
him  ;  but  in  faUing  the  Bear  brought  down  the  tent  and 
tent  poles,  under  which,  with  the  bear  were  three  men  and 
one  woman,  whom,  the  Bear  in  the  agonies  of  death,  sadly 
kicked  about,  until  relieved  by  the  man  who  had  shot  the 
Bear,  the  tent  was  drawn  over  his  head,  and  he  was  free. 

I  must  return  to  our  occupations ;  of  the  speckled  Trout  * 
we  caught  about  ten  dozen  of  two  to  three  pounds  weight, 
through  holes  in  the  ice  of  the  brook,  they  were  readily 
caught  with  a  common  hook  and  line,  baited  with  the  heart  of 
a  Grouse ;  as  the  cold  increased  and  the  thickness  of  the  ice, 
the  Trout  went  to  deeper  water,  where  we  could  not  find 
them.  The  Hares,  when  they  go  to  feed,  which  is  mostly 
in  the  night  time,  keep  a  regular  path  in  the  snow,  across 
which  a  hedge  is  thrown  of  pine  trees  of  close  branches,  but 
^  Cristivomer  namaycush  (Walbaum).     [E.  A.  P.] 


44       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

cut  away  at  the  path ;  a  long  pole  is  tied  to  a  tree,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  butt  end  shall  overbalance  the  upper  end 
and  the  weight  of  a  hare  ;  to  this  end  the  snare  of  brass  wire 
is  tied  by  a  piece  of  strong  twine,  this  end  of  the  pole  is  tied 
to  the  tree  laid  across  the  path,  by  a  slip  knot,  and  the  snare 
suspended  at  four  inches  above  the  snow.  The  Hare  comes 
bounding  along,  enters  the  snare,  the  slip  knot  is  undone,  the 
top  of  the  pole  is  free,  the  butt  end  by  it's  weight  descends, 
and  Puss  is  suspended  by  the  snare  about  six  to  eight  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  snow.  This  height  is  required  to 
prevent  them  being  taken  by  Foxes  and  Martens.  The  other 
Hares  that  follow  this  path,  have  for  the  night  a  free  passage  ; 
but  the  next  day  the  snare  is  reset,  until  no  more  can  be 
caught ;  where  the  Hares  are  plenty,  hedges  of  pine  trees, 
with  their  branches  extend  200  yards,  or  more,  in  length  ; 
on  a  fine  Moonlight  night  the  Hares  move  about  freely,  and 
from  eighteen  to  twenty  [are]  caught  in  a  night,  but  in  bad 
weather,  three,  or  four,  or  none ;  the  average  may  be  six  to 
eight  p"^  night  :  of  all  furrs  the  furr  of  the  hare  is  the  warmest, 
we  place  pieces  of  it  in  our  mittens,  the  skin  is  too  thin  for  any 
other  purpose.  When  the  cold  becomes  very  severe,  we  leave 
off  snareing  until  February  or  March,  as  the  Hares  lie  still. 

There  are  two  species  of  white  Grouse,  the  Rock  ^  and  the 
Willow,  the  former  is  a  lesser  species  with  a  black  stripe  round 
the  upper  eyelid,  and  feeds  among  the  rocks.  The  willow 
Grouse^  has  a  red  stripe  round  the  upper  eyelid,  is  a  finer 
bird  than  the  rock  grouse,  and  one  fifth  larger  :  they  are 
both  well  feathered  to  the  very  toe  nails ;  all  their  feathers  are 
double.  He  close  on  each  other,  two  in  one  quill,  or  socket, 
and  appear  as  one  feather ;  the  under  side  of  the  foot  have 
hard,  rough,  elastic  feathers  like  bristles.  The  white  Grouse, 
in  the  very  early  part  of  winter,  arrive  in  small  flocks  of  ten 
to  twenty,  but  as  the  winter  advances  and  the  cold  increases, 

*  Lagopus  rupestris  (Gmelin).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Lagopus  a Ibus  (Gmelin).     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  45 

they  become  more  plentiful,  and  form  flocks  of  fifty  to  one 
hundred  ;  they  Hve  on  the  buds  of  the  willows,  which  cover 
the  ground  between  the  sea  shore  and  the  pine  forests  ;  on 
the  south  side  of  Hayes's  River,  there  is  a  strip  of  alluvial 
formed  by  a  few  bold  Brooks  of  half,  to  one  mile  in  width, 
and  about  ten  miles  in  length,  next  to  impassable  in  summer 
for  marsh  and  water,  where  they  feed  ;  they  are  shot  on  the 
ground  as  they  feed  :  at  first  each  man  may  average  ten 
grouse  p'  day ;  but  by  the  beginning  of  December  they 
become  numerous,  and  the  average  of  each  man  may  be 
about  twenty  p"  day.  Each  grouse  weighs  two  pounds, 
forming  a  good  load  to  walk  with  in  snow  shoes ;  and  at  length 
to  carry  to  the  tent ;  when  the  feathers  are  taken  off,  the 
bowels  taken  out,  and  in  this  state  [they  are]  put  into  the 
hoard  to  freeze,  and  thus  taken  to  the  Factory ;  they  now 
average  one  pound  each,  and  the  feathers  of  twenty  grouse 
weigh  one  pound.  At  night  the  Grouse,  each  singly,  burrows 
in  the  snow,  and  when  the  cold  is  intense,  do  the  same  in  the 
middle  of  the  day.  However  intense  the  cold,  even  to 
85  degrees  below  the  freezing  point,  I  never  knew  any  to 
perish  with  cold,  when  not  wounded  ;  the  same  of  all  other 
birds,  kind  Providence  has  admirably  adapted  them  to  the 
climate. 

After  the  bitter  cold  of  December  and  January  is  passed, 
they  congregate  in  large  flocks.  Each  man  now  bags  from 
thirty  to  forty  grouse  p'  day,  but  as  this  is  a  Load  too  heavy 
to  hunt  with,  part  is  buried  in  the  Snow  and  only  taken  up 
when  going  to  the  Tent.  The  weather  now  allowing  us  to 
load  our  guns ;  for  in  the  intense  cold,  the  shot  is  no  sooner 
fired  than  our  hands  are  in  our  large  mittens ;  we  walk  and 
pick  up  the  bird,  then  get  the  powder  in,  and  walk  again,  at 
length  [put  in]  the  shot,  and  the  gun  is  loaded  ;  it  is  needless 
to  say,  exposed  to  such  bitter  cold,  with  no  shelter,  we  cannot 
fire  many  shots  in  a  short  day.  Gloves  are  found  to  be  worse 
than  useless. 


46       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

In  the  latter  end  of  February,  the  month  of  March,  and 
to  the  end  of  the  season,  the  Grouse  are  netted,  during  which 
[time]  not  a  shot  is  fired,  except  at  Hawks  :  ^  They  are  a  great 
plague  to  us,  as  the  flocks  were  going  before  us,  by  short 
flights,  a  Hawk  appearing,  they  dived  down  under  the  Snow, 
and  for  some  time  staid  there.  For  this  purpose  a  large  snow 
drift  is  chosen,  level  on  the  top,  or  made  so,  on  which  is  placed 
a  square  net  of  strong  twine  of  twenty  feet  each  side,  well 
tied  to  four  strong  poles,  the  front  side  is  supported  by  two 
uprights,  four  feet  in  height ;  to  which  is  tied  a  strong  Hne  of 
about  fifty  feet  in  length,  conducted  to  a  bush  of  willows, 
the  side  poles  being  about  four  feet  longer  than  the  other,  the 
back  of  the  net  is  also  lifted  up  about  two  feet  above  the 
snow,  so  as  to  leave  room  for  the  grouse  to  pass ;  two,  or  three 
bags  of  fine  gravel  are  brought,  and  laid  under  the  centre  of 
the  net,  mixed  with  willow  buds  taken  out  of  the  crops  of 
the  Grouse  we  have  shot,  these  are  gently  dried  over  the  fire 
to  make  them  look  Hke  fresh  buds  :  at  first  we  have  no  great 
difficulty  in  starting  and  guiding  the  flocks  towards  the  net, 
and  so  soon  as  we  can  bring  them  within  view  of  the  gravel 
and  buds,  they  eagerly  run  to  them,  and  crowd  one  on  another, 
the  man  at  the  end  of  the  Hne  pulls  away  the  two  uprights, 
the  net  falls,  we  directly  run  and  throw  ourselves  on  the  net, 
as  the  strong  efforts  of  forty  or  flfty  of  these  active  birds 
might  make  an  opening  in  the  net.  We  have  now  to  take 
the  neck  of  each  grouse  between  our  teeth,  and  crack  the  neck 
bone,  without  breaking  the  skin,  and  drawing  blood,  which 
if  done,  the  foxes  destroy  the  part  of  the  net  on  which  is 
blood  and  around  it,  which  sometimes  happens  to  our  vexation, 
and  we  have  to  mend  the  net.  Although  for  the  first  few 
days  we  may  net  120  Grouse  p'  day,  yet  in  about  a  fortnight 
they  become  so  tame,  they  no  longer  form  a  large  flock,  and 
at  length  we  are  obHged  to  drive  them  before  us  Hke  barn 

^  The  Gyrfalcons,  Falco  islandus  Briinnich,  and  F.  i.  gyrfalco  Linn., 
and  the  Goshawk,  are  inveterate  enemies  of  the  ptarmigan.     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  47 

door  fowls,  by  eight  or  ten  at  a  time,  for  every  haul  of  the 
net,  and  thus  in  the  course  of  a  long  day,  we  do  not  net 
more  than  forty  to  sixty  grouse.  In  these  months  they  have 
a  pleasing  cheerful  call,  in  the  early  and  latter  parts  of  the 
day,  of  Kabow,  Kabow,  Kow  a  e.  The  hens  have  the  same 
call,  but  in  a  low  note.  In  bad  weather  the  willow  grouse 
shelters  itself  under  the  snow,  but  the  Rock  grouse  run  about, 
as  if  enjoying  the  Storm.  During  the  winter  whatever  may 
be  the  number  of  the  flock,  and  however  near  to  each  other, 
each  burrows  singly  in  the  snow,  their  feathers  are  of  a 
brilliant  white,  if  possible  whiter  than  the  snow.  In  the 
months  of  March  and  April,  part  of  the  feathers,  particularly 
about  the  neck,  and  the  fore  part  of  the  body,  change  color 
to  a  glossy  brown,  or  deep  chocolate,  upon  a  ground  of 
brilliant  white,  very  beautiful,  and  in  this  state  are  often 
stuffed  and  sent  to  London.  No  dove  is  more  meek  than  the 
white  grouse,  I  have  often  taken  them  from  under  the  net, 
and  provoked  them  all  I  could  without  injuring  them,  but 
aU  was  submissive  meekness.  Rough  beings  as  we  were, 
sometimes  of  an  evening  we  could  not  help  enquiring  why 
such  an  angehc  bird  should  be  doomed  to  be  the  prey  of 
carnivorous  animals  and  birds,  the  ways  of  Providence  are 
unknown  to  us.  They  pair  in  May,  and  retire  to  the  Pine 
Forests,  make  their  nests  on  the  ground,  under  the  low 
spreading  branches  of  the  dwarf  Pine,  they  lay  from  eleven 
to  thirteen  eggs,  the  young,  from  the  shell,  are  very  active 
and  follow  their  dam.  There  is  a  third  species  caUed  the 
Pine,  or  Swamp,  grouse,^  of  dark  brown  feathers,  it  feeds  on 
the  leaves  of  the  white  pine,  and  it's  flesh  tastes  of  the  pine 
on  which  it  feeds ;  it  is  found  sitting  on  the  branches  of  the 
tree,  ten,  or  twelve,  feet  above  the  snow,  or  ground  ;  it  is  a 
stupid  bird,  a  snare  is  tied  to  the  end  of  a  stick  put  round  it's 
neck  and  puUed  to  the  ground.  It  is  only  eaten  for  want  of 
better ;  they  are  not  numerous,  [are]  solitary  and  never  in 
^  Spruce  Grouse,  Canachites  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E,  A.  P.] 


48        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

flocks.  A  few  Pheasants  ^  are  shot,  they  are  something  larger 
than  the  white  grouse,  of  fine  dark  plumage,  but  not  to  be 
compared  to  the  English  Pheasant.  Their  habits  are  much 
the  same  as  the  white  grouse  except  [that]  when  they  are 
started,  they  fly  to,  and  settle  on  the  Trees,  and  not  on  the 
snow,  or  ground.  Late  in  Autumn  and  early  in  the  Spring 
the  delicate  Snow  Bunting  ^  appear  in  small  flocks,  they  are 
shot,  and  also  taken  by  small  nets,  they  are  a  delicacy  for  the 
table.  They  fly  from  place  to  place,  feed  on  the  seeds  of  grass, 
but  do  not  stay  more  than  three  weeks  each  time.  The 
Tomtits  ^  stay  all  winter,  and  feed  on  grass  seeds.  The  hand- 
some, Httle  curious  bird,  the  Cross  Beak,*  leave  us  late  in 
Autumn  and  arrive  early  in  March.  They  are  always  in  small 
flocks,  and  their  whole  employment  seems  to  be,  cutting  off 
the  cones  of  the  Pines,  which  their  cross  beaks  perform  as 
with  a  pair  of  scissors.  The  flock  takes  one  tree,  if  large,  at  a 
time  and  shower  down  the  Cones  Hke  hail,  I  never  saw  them 
feed  on  them  :  they  remain  and  breed  in  the  summer.  At 
all  seasons  the  Butcher  bird  is  with  us,  and  called  Whisky] ack,^ 
from  the  Indian  name  "  Weeskaijohn."  It  is  a  noisy,  familiar 
bird,  always  close  about  the  tents,  and  will  alight  at  the  very 
doors,  to  pick  up  what  is  thrown  out ;  he  lives  by  plunder, 
and  on  berries,  and  what  he  cannot  eat  he  hides ;  it  is  easily 
taken  by  a  snare,  and  brought  into  the  room,  seems  directly 
quite  at  home  ;  when  spirits  is  offered,  it  directly  drinks,  is 
soon  drunk  and  fastens  itself  anywhere  tiU  sober.  A  Hunter 
marching  through  the  forest  may  see  a  chance  one,  but  if  an 
animal  is  killed,  in  a  few  minutes  there  are  twenty  of  them. 
They  are  a  nuisance,  picking  and  dirtying  the  meat,  and 
nothing  frightens  them  which  the  hunter  can  hang  up.     When 

1  Sharp-tailed  Grouse,  Pedioecetes  phasianellus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Plectrophenax  nivalis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Probably    Hudsonian    Chickadee,   Penthestes    hudsonicus    (Forster). 
[E.  A.  P.] 

*  Loxia  curvirostra  minor  (Brehm),  and  L.  leucoptera  Gmelin.    [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Canada  Jay,  Perisoreus  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AT   A  TRADING   POST  49 

the  cold  is  intense,  the  feathers  are  ruffled  out  to  twice  it's 
size ;  all  carnivorous  birds  appear,  as  it  were,  to  loosen  their 
feathers,  whereas  the  Grouse  seem  to  tighten  their  feathers 
around  them.  The  Raven  ^  is  the  same  bird  here,  as  over  all 
the  world,  stealing  and  plundering  whatever  he  can,  early 
and  late  on  the  wing,  and  sometimes  taken  in  the  traps  not 
intended  for  him.  In  winter,  when  taken  to  shelter,  he 
ruffles  his  feathers,  and  chooses  a  snug  place  in  the  pines 
exposed  to  the  sun.  The  Indians  do  not  Hke  the  Raven,  as 
in  hunting  he  often  foUows  them,  and  by  cawing  noise, 
startles  the  animals,  so  as  to  make  them  look  about,  and  be 
on  their  guard  ;  when  in  their  power  he  is  sure  to  die.  Other 
Birds  and  Animals  I  shall  notice  when  writing  on  the  interior 
countries,  except  the  White  Fox '  which  is  found  only  along 
the  sea  shore  (and  not  in  the  interior)  and  near  the  mouths 
of  Rivers  ;  he  is  the  least  in  size  of  aU  the  Foxes,  and  the 
least  in  value  ;  it's  skin  is  worth  only,  about  six  to  ten  shillings  ; 
like  all  his  species  by  nature  a  thief,  following  the  Hunters 
to  pick  up  wounded  birds,  they  are  readily  caught  in  traps 
and  killed  by  set  guns.  By  a  well  laid  Hne  of  traps  and  guns, 
the  produce  of  the  early  part  of  the  winter  is  about  six  of 
these  Foxes  p"^  night.  With  all  their  cunning  they  are  a  stupid 
animal.  On  meeting  one  of  them  on  the  ice,  I  have  often 
made  a  trap  of  pieces  of  ice,  baited  it,  while  he  was  looking 
at  me,  then  retired  some  forty  yards,  he  would  then  run  to 
the  trap,  look  at  me  as  if  asking  permission  to  take  the  bait, 
run  his  head  into  the  trap  and  be  caught ;  in  this  respect  he 
differs  very  much  from  aU  the  other  species.  Speaking  so 
often  of  traps  and  set  guns,  I  may  as  weU  describe  them  : 
For  a  Marten,  a  throat  log,  of  about  4  feet  in  length,  of  a 
small  pine  is  first  laid  on  the  snow,  frequently  some  branches 
under  it  to  keep  it  from  sinking  in  the  snow,  two  stakes  are 
then  driven,  one  on  each  side  into  the  snow  and  moss  near 

^  Corvus  corax  principalis  Ridgway.     [E.  A.  P.] 
2  Alopex  lagopus  innuitus  (Merriam).     [E.  A.  P.] 

D 


50        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  middle ;  about  eight  inches  from  these,  other  two  are 
driven,  to  form  a  doorway.  The  sides  and  back  are  also  of 
small  stakes ;  the  neck  log  is  about  six  feet  in  length,  and 
passes  thro'  between  the  four  stakes  a  few  inches,  the  other 
end  rests  on  some  branches  on  the  snow,  a  small  stick  of  about 
six  inches,  on  one  end  baited  with  the  head  of  a  grouse,  the 
other  end  is  half  round,  and  rests  on  the  throat  log,  on  which 
a  post  of  four  inches  in  height  is  placed  and  supports  the 
neck  log,  to  give  free  entrance  to  the  animal,  the  top  of  the 
trap,  and  above  the  neck  log  is  well  covered  with  pine  branches 
to  prevent  any  access  to  the  bait ;  other  logs  are  laid  on  the 
neck  log  for  wait  to  detain  the  animal,  which  commonly  is 
soon  dead.  These  traps  are  made  large,  and  strong,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  animal  they  are  intended  for.  Set  guns  and 
steel  traps  are  weU  known  to  the  civilized  world. 

The  month  of  April,  from  the  thawing  of  the  snow,  and 
the  grouse  leaving  to  make  their  nests,  obliges  us  to  give  up 
the  winter  hunting,  and  we  return  to  the  Factory  to  pass  a 
dull  time  until  the  arrival  of  the  geese,  for  which  we  get 
ready.  In  our  Tents  we  had  a  comfortable  fire,  and  the 
chances  of  the  day  in  shooting,  trapping  and  netting,  with  a 
few  hearty  curses  on  the  hawks  and  foxes  for  the  grouse  they 
took  from  us,  at  which  they  were  very  clever,  frequently 
keeping  near  us,  though  out  of  shot,  and  as  soon  as  we  killed 
a  bird,  before  we  could  load  the  gun,  one,  or  the  other, 
would  pounce  on  a  grouse  and  carry  it  off  :  We  had  some- 
times the  satisfaction  of  seeing  these  two  rogues  worry  each 
other  ;  the  Hawks  ^  were  mostly  of  the  short  wing  and  could 
not  carry  much,  and  a  grouse  weighing  about  two  pounds, 
at  about  two  or  three  hundred  yards  they  had  to  alight  and 
tear  out  the  bowels,  their  favourite  food,  the  fox  was  upon 
them,  and  made  them  take  another  flight.  Sometimes  the  fox 
seized  the  bird,  in  this  case  the  hawk  was  continually  attacking 
him  with  blows  of  his  claws  on  his  neck,  near  to  his  head,  the 

*  Probably  the  Goshawk,  Astur  atricapillus  (Wilson).     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  51 

fox  sprang  at  the  hawk,  to  no  purpose,  and  the  moment  he 
put  down  his  head  to  seize  the  bird,  the  hawk  again  struck 
him,  and  thus  the  fox  made  his  meal.  The  long  winged 
hawks  carry  a  grouse  with  ease  to  the  Trees,  where  they  are 
secure  from  the  foxes.  The  summer  months  pass  away 
without  regret,  the  myriads  of  tormenting  flies  allow  no  re- 
spite, and  we  see  the  cold  months  advance  with  something 
like  pleasure,  for  we  can  now  enjoy  a  book,  or  a  walk.  October 
and  November  produce  their  ice  and  snow,  the  Rivers  freeze 
over  and  form  a  solid  bridge  to  cross  where  we  please,  our 
winter  clothing  is  ready,  and  gloomy  December  is  on  us. 
The  cold  increases  continually,  with  very  little  relaxation,  the 
snow  is  now  as  dry  as  dust,  about  two  feet  in  depth,  it  adheres 
to  nothing,  we  may  throw  a  gun  into  it  and  take  it  up  as  free 
of  snow,  as  if  in  the  air,  and  no  snow  adheres  to  our  Snow 
Shoes.  The  Aurora  Borealis  is  seen  only  to  the  northward, 
sometimes  with  a  tremulous  motion,  but  seldom  bright  ; 
halos  of  the  sun  also  appear.  The  month  of  January  comes, 
and  continues  with  intense  cold  ;  from  the  density  of  the  air, 
the  halos,  or  mock  suns,  at  times  appear  as  bright  as  the  real 
Sun  ;  but  when  in  this  state,  betokens  bad  weather.  The 
halos  of  the  Moon  are  also  very  pleasing. 

A  curious  formation  now  takes  place  called  Rime,  of 
extreme  thinness,  adhering  to  the  trees,  willows  and  every- 
thing it  can  fasten  on,  it's  beautiful,  clear,  spangles  forming 
flowers  of  every  shape,  of  a  most  brilliant  appearance,  and  the 
sun  shining  on  them  makes  them  too  dazzling  to  the  sight. 
The  lower  the  ground,  the  larger  is  the  leaf,  and  the  flower  ; 
this  brilliant  Rime  can  only  be  formed  in  calm  clear  weather 
and  a  gale  of  wind  sweeps  away  all  this  magic  scenery,  to 
be  reformed  on  calm  days ;  it  appears  to  be  formed  of  frozen 
dew.  The  actual  quantity  of  snow  on  the  ground  is  not  more 
than  2i  feet  in  depth  in  the  woods,  clear  of  drift,  very  hght 
and  dry  ;  almost  every  fall  of  snow  is  attended  with  a  gale 
of  NE.  wind.     The  falling  snow  with  the  moveable  snow  on 


52  DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

the  ground,  causes  a  drift  and  darkness  in  which  the  traveller 
is     bewildered,    and    sometimes    perishes.       The    months    of 
February    and   March   have   many   pleasant   clear   days,    the 
gaudy,  spangled  Rime  is  most  brilliant,  and  requires  a  strong 
eye  to  look  upon  it.     The  climate  is  more  moderate,  there 
are  a  few  fine  days,  the  sun  is  bright  with  a  little  warmth, 
the  snow  lower,  but  does  not  thaw.     In  the  months  of  March 
and  April,  the  Snow  too  often  causes  snow  blindness,  of  a 
most  painful  nature.     As  I  never  had  it,  I  can  only  describe 
the  sensations  of  my  companions.     Accustomed  to  march  in 
all  weathers,  I  had  acquired  a  power  over  my  eyelids  to  open, 
or  contract  them   as   circumstances   required,   and  to  admit 
only  the  requisite  quantity  of  Hght  to  guide  me,  and  thus  [I] 
prevented  the  painful  effects  of  snow  blindness.     In  the  case 
of  those  affected  the  blue  eye  suffers  first  and  most,  the  gray 
eye  next,  and  the  black  eye  the  least ;    but  none  are  exempt 
from  snow  blindness  ;    the  sensations  of  my  companions,  and 
others,  were  all  the  same  ;    they  all  complained  of  their  eyes, 
being,  as  it  were,  full  of  burning  sand  ;   I  have  seen  hardy  men 
crying  like  children,   after  a  hard  march  of  four  months  in 
winter.     Three  men  and  myself  made  for  a  trading  post  in 
the  latter  part  of  March.     They  all  became  snow  blind,  and 
for  the  last  four  days  I  had  to  lead  them  with  a  string  tied  to 
my  belt,  and  [they]  were  so  completely  bhnd  that  when  they 
wished  to  drink  of  the  Httle  pools  of  melted  snow,  I  had  to 
put  their  hands  in  the  water.     They  could  not  sleep  at  night. 
On  arriving  at  the  trading  Post,  they  were  soon  relieved  by 
the  application  of  the  steam  of  boiling  water  as  hot  as  they 
could  bear  it,  this  is  the  Indian  mode  of  cure,  and  the  only 
efficient  cure  yet   known,  but  all  complained  of  weakness  of 
sight  for  several  months  after.     Black  crape  is  sometimes  used 
to  protect  the  eyes  from  the  dazzling  light  of  the  snow,  but 
the  Hunter  cannot  long  make  use  of  it,  the  chase  demands 
the  whole  power  of  his  eyesight.     When  thirsty  a  mouthful 
of  snow  wets   the   mouth   but   does   not   relieve   thirst :    the 


LIFE   AT   A   TRADING   POST  53 

water  of  snow  melted  by  the  sun  has  a  good  taste,  but  snow 
melted  in  a  kettle  over  a  fire,  has  a  smoky  taste,  until  made 
to  boil  for  a  few  minutes,  this  takes  away  the  smoky  taste, 
and  snow  being  put  in,  makes  good  water. 

Of  the  native  Indians  along  the  shore  of  Hudson's  Bay  I 
wish  to  say  as  Httle  as  possible.  The  Company  has  the  Bay  in 
full  possession,  and  can  enforce  the  strictest  temperance  of 
spirituous  liquors,  by  their  orders  to  their  chief  Factors,  but 
the  ships  at  the  same  time  bringing  out  several  hundred  gallons 
of  vile  spirits  called  Eng.  Brandy,^  no  such  morality  is  thought 
of.  No  matter  what  service  the  Indian  performs,  or  does  he 
come  to  trade  his  furrs,  strong  grog  is  given  to  him,  and 
sometimes  for  two  or  three  days  Men  and  Women  are  all 
drunk,  and  become  the  most  degraded  of  human  beings.^ 

1  In  1785  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  imported  to  York  Factory, 
over  and  above  what  it  had  imported  to  Churchill  and  Moose  Factories, 
2,028  gallons  of  brandy.  In  1794,  under  Colen's  regime,  the  importation  of 
brandy  to  the  same  place  rose  to  7,900  gallons.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
C-ompany  operated  a  small  distillery  at  York  Factory  at  the  same  time. 

»  In  Thompson's  note-books  some  pages  are  taken  up  by  what  he  calls 
"  Index  of  his  Journals  as  Extended,"  in  which  he  gives  the  contents  of 
a  number  of  pages  which  were  not  in  the  original  manuscript  as  I  obtained 
it,  and  of  which  I  have  been  able  to  find  no  trace  among  any  of  his  papers . 
It  is  possible  that  the  pages  were  never  written,  though  he  may  have  out- 
lined their  contents.  These  pages  come  in  at  this  point  in  his  Journal, 
and  the  following  is  the  extension  of  the  index  as  he  gives  it : 

"27*-  The  fur  trade  H.  B.  only  2  inland  houses. 

"  27''-  Embark  as  Clerk  to  Mr.  Mitchell  Oman.     Tracking. 

"  27<=-  Description  of  route  to  the  Great  Rapid  &  C.  Place. 

"  27<i-  Description  of  route  to  Cumberland  House. 

"  27e-   Description  of  route  to  the  Houses  for  Winter. 

"  27*-   Cleared  ground  &  builded  a  house. 

"278-  Character  of  our  neighbours. 

"  zi^-  Advantages  of  the  Canada  Fur  traders. 

"  27'-   Bow  River  trade  in  furs  &  provisions. 

"27^-  Mr.  Hudson,  his  character. 

"271-    Cumberland  Lake. 

"  27">-  Up  the  river  to  Buckingham  House.     Outfit  to  trade. 

"  27"-  Barter,  trade,  &c. 

"  27°-  Eagle  catching  on  conical  knolls. 

"  27?-  Journey  to  the  one  Pine.     Cut  down  for  one  third. 

"  27<i-  March  on.     Animals  very  scarce. 


54        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

'  27'-  Arrive  at  the  Bow  River.     Cross  it.     Meet  Peeagans. 

'  27»-  Lodge  with  an  old  man.     Basins,  &c.,  return  northward. 

'  27'"  Old  Sakka  mappi  &  his  native  country. 

'27".  Horses  &  mules  arrive.     Kootanae  Appee. 

'  27'-  Kootanae  Appee.     War  Chief. 

'  27^'-  Right  &  left  hands. 

'  27^-  Trade.     Return  to  the  trading  house.     Mr.  Tomison. 

'  27y-  Mr.  Tomison.     Hudson  House  &  horses, 

'  272^-  How  to  clear  &  cool  river  water. 

'  27**-  Thirst  taken  away  by  bathing. 

'  27^*'-  The  Plaines.     Ponds  of  salt,  &c. 

'  27"=-  Basins.     Break  my  right  leg.     Cumberland  House. 

'  27*^-  Mr.    Turnor    arrives.     Practical    astronomy.      Arrive    at    York 

Factory. 
"28.  York  Factory." 


CHAPTER    III 

MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  1 

Musk  Rat  country — Boundaries — Frozen  soil — Forest — White 
Birch  —  Rind  of  White  Birch  —  Berries  —  Misaskutum 
Berry  —  Fish  —  Pike  —  Trout  —  White  Fish  —  Carp  — 
Sturgeon — Swan — Marten — Accident  while  trapping  Marten 
— Nature  of  Marten — Wolverine — Pranks  of  Wolverine. 

HAVING  described  what  is  peculiar  to  the  wild 
shores  of  Hudson's  Bay,  I  now  turn  to  the  interior 
country,  and  include  a  space  from  Hudson's  Bay 
of  about  three  hundred  miles  in  width,  known  to  the  Fur 
Traders  by  the  name  of  the  Musk  Rat  country.  The  geology 
of  this  country  is  quite  distinct  from  the  countries  westward, 
it  is  composed  of  granitic  and  other  siHcious  Rocks ;  from  the 
parallel  of  54  or  55  degrees  north,  this  rocky  region  extends 
northward  to  the  extremity  of  the  continent,  and  is  about 
400  miles  in  width  ;  to  the  southward  of  the  above  line,  this 
region  extends  southward  to  the  coasts  of  Labrador ;  every 
where  it's  character  is  much  the  same,  almost  everywhere 
rock  covered  with  moss,  the  spots  of  tolerable  soil  are  neither 
large,  nor  frequent,  containing  very  many  Lakes,  the  Streams 
from  which  find  their  way  to  the  large  Rivers.  This  Region 
is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  great  chain  of  Lakes,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  are  Lake  Superior,  the  Rainy  Lake,  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods,  Winepeg,  the  Cedar,  and  chain  of  Lakes  north- 

*  The  country  here  designated  the  Muskrat  country  is  a  portion  of 
the  great  Archaean  protaxis  or  hinterland  of  Canada  which  is  only  now 
being  opened  to  settlement.  The  Hudson  Bay  Railway,  which  is  now 
being  built,  will  run  through  it  from  The  Pas  on  the  Saskatchewan  river 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Nelson  river. 

SS 


56       DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

ward  to  the  Athabasca  and  great  Slave  Lakes.  The  northern 
parts  are  either  destitute  of  Woods,  or  they  are  low  and  small ; 
especially  about  Hudson's  Bay  where  the  ground  is  always 
frozen  ;  even  in  the  month  of  August,  in  the  woods,  on  taking 
away  the  moss,  the  ground  is  thawed  at  most,  for  two  inches 
in  depth  :  M'  Joseph  Colen,^  the  Resident  at  York  Factory, 
on  having  a  Cellar  dug  for  a  new  building,  found  the  earth 
frozen  to  the  depth  of  five  and  a  half  feet,  below  which  it 
was  not  frozen.  All  the  Trees  on  this  frozen  soil  have  no 
tap  roots ;  their  roots  spread  on  the  ground,  the  fibres  of 
the  roots  interlace  with  each  other  for  mutual  support ;  and 
although  around  Hudson's  Bay  there  is  a  wide  belt  of  earth 
of  about  one  hundred  miles  in  width,  apparently  of  ancient 
alluvial  from  the  rounded  gravel  in  the  banks  of  the  Rivers, 
yet  it  is  mostly  all  a  cold  wet  soil,  the  surface  covered  with 
wet  moss,  ponds,  marsh  and  dwarf  trees.  The  only  dry 
places  are  the  banks  of  the  Brooks,  Rivulets  and  Lakes.  The 
rocky  region  close  westward  of  this  coarse  alluvial  already 
noticed,  in  very  many  places,  especially  around  it's  Lakes, 
and  their  intervals,  have  fine  Forests  of  Pines,  Firs,  Aspins, 
Poplar,  white  and  grey  Birch,  Alder  and  Willow  ;  all  these 
grow  in  abundance,  which  makes  all  this  region  of  rock  and 
Lake  appear  a  dense  forest,  but  the  surface  of  the  Lakes 
cover  full  two  fifths,  or  more,  of  the  whole  extent.  The  most 
usefuU  trees  are  the  White  Birch,^  the  Larch,^  and  the  Aspin.* 

^  Joseph  Colen  was  one  of  the  clerks  at  York  Factory  under  Humphrey 
Marten  when  Thompson  arrived  there  in  1785.  On  the  departure  of 
Marten  for  England  in  1786,  Colen  succeeded  him  as  Resident  in  charge 
of  the  fort,  and  remained  in  charge  until  his  own  recall  in  1798.  During 
these  twelve  years,  he  seems  to  have  handled  the  fur-trade  of  the  Company 
in  a  fairly  capable  manner,  but  he  was  often  at  cross-purposes  with  the 
Resident  in  charge  of  the  Churchill  district,  and  he  did  not  get  along  well 
with  William  Tomison,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  Saskatchewan  trade,  and 
who  received  his  supplies  from  York.  After  Colen's  recall,  Tomison  was 
made  President  of  the  Council  at  York. 

"^  Betula  papyrifera  Marsh.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Larix  laricina  (Du  Roi).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Populus  tremuloides  Michx.     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  57 

The  White  Birch,  besides  it's  bark,  which  is  good  for  tanning 
leather,  has  also  a  Rind  which  covers  the  bark,  of  which 
Canoes  are  made ;  this  Rind  is  thick  in  proportion  to  the 
intense  cold  of  winter  where  the  tree  grows,  in  high  Latitudes, 
it  is  one  fourth  of  an  inch  thick,  and  wherever  the  winter 
is  very  cold.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains  where  the 
winters  are  very  mild,  the  Rind  is  too  thin  to  be  of  any  use  ; 
it  thus  appears  to  be  a  protection  to  the  tree  against  the  frost. 
The  Wood  of  the  Birch  tree  is  used  for  making  Sledges  and 
Sleds,  Axe  helves  and  whatever  requires  strength  and  neat- 
ness, as  the  frames  of  Snow  Shoes,  but  does  not  bear  exposure 
to  wet  weather.  The  Rind  is  very  useful  to  the  natives  and 
traders  for  making  Canoes,  Dishes,  coverings  for  canoes,  and 
for  Tents  and  Lodges  in  the  open  Seasons.  The  White 
Birch  is  seldom  more  than  four  feet  in  circumference,  but  to 
the  branches  of  which  the  head  is  formed,  carries  this  girth 
with  little  diminution  ;  it  can  be  raised  from  the  bark  only 
in  mild  weather,  in  hot  weather  it  freely  comes  away,  and  a 
well  grown  tree  will  give  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  of  Birch 
Rind ;  it  requires  a  practised  Man  to  raise  it  without  injuring 
it.  The  rind  is  never  renewed,  and  the  bark  not  having  the 
shelter  of  the  rinds  becomes  full  of  cracks,  and  the  tree  decays. 
In  the  spring  of  the  year  incisions  in  the  tree  yield  a  sap, 
which  is  boiled  to  a  well  tasted  syrup.  The  grey  birch  ^ 
grows  among  the  Rocks,  it  [is]  a  dwarf  tree,  crooked,  knotty, 
and  full  of  branches ;  it's  wood  is  stronger  than  the  white 
birch ;  it's  rind  too  thin  to  be  of  use,  it  has  many  tatters 
hanging  to  it,  which  are  much  used  for  quickly  Ughting  a 
fire.  The  Larch  is  well  known,  a  strong  elastic  wood,  and 
make  the  best  of  Sleds.  The  poplar  "^  and  aspin,^  make  the  best 
of  fire  wood  for  a  tent,  [as]  the  wood  does  not  sparkle,  and 
the  smoke  is  mild  ;    the  smoke  of  no  other  woods  should  be 

^  Probably  Betiila  glandulosa  Michx.     [E.  A.  P.] 
*  Populus  balsamifera  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  P.  tremuloides.     [E.  A.  P.] 


58        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

used  for  drying  meat  and  fish.  The  smoke  of  these  woods 
preserves  both  and  gives  an  agreeable  taste  ;  in  places,  there 
are  fine  forests  of  aspins  of  six  inches  to  one  foot  diameter, 
and  thirty  to  forty  feet  without  branches.  The  White  and 
Red  Firs  grow  on  a  sandy  soil,  they  are  of  dwarf  growth,  and 
full  of  knots  and  branches.  There  are  four  species  of  the 
Pine,^  besides  the  Cypress  ;  ^  the  white  Spruce  ^  is  noted  for  it's 
fine  spreading  branches,  which  form  the  beds  of  the  traveller 
and  the  hunter  ;  In  the  frozen  cHme  of  Hudson's  Bay,  only 
half  of  this  tree  can  be  used,  the  north  east  side  being  very 
brittle,  and  can  hardly  be  called  wood.  The  other  Pines  are 
mostly  found  in  the  interior,  they  thrive  most  near  Lakes 
and  Rivers,  and  in  favorable  places  are  of  six  feet  girth,  and 
forty  to  fifty  feet  in  height. 

By  the  Natives  the  saplings  of  these  serve  for  tent  poles, 
laths  and  timbers  for  canoes,  by  the  traders,  the  same  pur- 
poses, and  building  of  Houses.  Of  Berries  there  are  twenty 
species  all  known  in  europe  but  one.  They  are,  the  dry  *  and 
swamp  Cranberry,^  the  Crow  ®  and  Black  Berries,  two  kinds  of 
Raspberries ;  ^  the  Strawberry  ;  ^  two  kinds  of  Cherry's,^  both 
are  small.  White  and  Red  Currants  ;  ^^  the  black  Currant,^^  a 
.mild  purgative  ;  two  kinds  of  Gooseberries,^"  two  of  Hipber- 
ries ;  ^^  the  Juniper  berry  ;  "  the  Eye  berry  :  ^^  the  Bear  Berry  ;^^ 

1  The  only  true  pine  is  Pinus  divaricata  (Ait.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Probably  White  Cedar,  Thuja  occidentalis  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Picea  canadensis  (Mill.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Probably  Vaccinium  vitisidcsa.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Probably  Oxycocctts  oxycoccus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Empetrum  nigrum  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  Rubus  strigosus  Michx.,  and  R.  chamcBtnorus  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Fragaria  canadensis  (Michx.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

»  Prunus  virginiana  Linn.,  and  P.  pennsylvanica  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 
1°  Red  Currant,  Ribes  rubrum  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 
"  Ribes  hudsonianuni  Richardson.     [E.  A.  P.] 
"  Northern  Gooseberry,  Ribes  oxyacanthoides  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 
1*  Wild  Rose,  Rosa  acicularis  Lindl.     [E.  A.  P.] 
1*  Probably  Juniperus  sabina  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 
1*  Rubus  arcticus  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 
!•  Arctostaphylos  tiva-ursi  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  59 

this  has  a  low  spreading  plant  which  lies  flat  on  the  ground, 
it  has  it's  use  in  medicine ;  the  Natives  collect  and  dry  the 
leaves,  wherever  it  can  be  procured  ;  it  is  mixed  with  tobacco 
for  smoking,  giving  to  the  smoke  a  mild,  agreeable  flavour. 
A  berry  of  an  agreeable  acid  called  the  Summer  berry,^  it 
ripens  late  in  Autumn,  the  Shrub  of  this  berry  has  a  large 
pith,  takes  a  good  polish  and  is  used  for  Pipe  Stems  ;  and  the 
Misaskutum  berry,^  perhaps  peculiar  to  north  america  ;  the 
berry  grows  abundantly  on  willow  like  shrubs,  is  of  the  color 
of  deep  blue,  or  black  ;  the  size  of  a  full  grown  green  pea, 
very  sweet  and  nourishing,  the  favorite  food  of  small  birds, 
and  the  Bears.  They  are  very  wholesome,  and  may  safely  be 
eaten  as  long  as  the  appetite  continues ;  they  are  much 
sought  after  by  the  Natives,  they  collect  and  dry  them  in 
quantities  for  future  use ;  and  mixed  with  Pimmecan,  be- 
comes a  rich  and  agreeable  food.  The  wood  is  of  a  fine  size 
for  arrows,  and  where  this  can  be  got,  no  other  is  employed  ; 
it  is  weighty,  pliant,  and  non-elastic.  As  this  berry  is  pre- 
ceded by  a  beautiful  flower,  and  the  berry  is  as  rich  as  any 
currant  from  Smyrna  and  keeps  as  well,  it  ought  to  be  culti- 
vated in  Canada,  and  in  England. 

The  Rivers  and  Lakes  have  Pike,^  (the  water  wolf.)  He 
preys  on  every  fish  he  can  master,  even  on  his  own  species ; 
he  seises  his  prey  by  the  middle  of  the  back,  and  keeps  his 
hold  until  it  is  dead  :  when  he  swallows  it.  It  catches  readily 
at  any  bait,  even  a  bit  of  red  rag.  It  is  a  bold  active  fish, 
and  in  summer  is  often  found  with  a  mouse  in  it's  stomach. 
It's  jaws  are  strong,  set  with  sharp  teeth,  somewhat  curved, 
it  is  of  aU  sizes  from  one  to  fifteen  pounds ;  it  is  seldom 
found  in  company  with  the  Trout,*  which  last  appears  to  be 


*  Viburnum  opulus  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Amelanchier  alnifolia    Nutt.      This    is    the    Saskatoon    or    Service 
Berry.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Esox  lucius  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Cristivomer  vamaycush  (Walb.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


60        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  master  fish,  for  where  they  are  found  In  the  same  Lake, 
the  Pike  are  confined  to  the  shallow  bays.  The  Trout  to 
attain  to  a  large  size,  they  require  to  be  in  extensive  deep 
Lakes.  In  this  region  they  are  from  one  to  twenty  pounds. 
They  are  as  rich  as  meat.  The  white  fish  ^  is  well  known,  their 
quaHty  and  size  depends  much  on  the  depths  of  the  Lakes. 
In  shoal  Lakes  they  are  generally  poor,  and  in  deep  Lakes  fat 
and  large,  they  are  almost  the  sole  subsistence  of  the  Traders 
and  their  men  in  the  winter,  and  part  of  the  summer  :  they 
are  caught  in  nets  of  five  to  six  inches  mesh,  fifty  fathoms  in 
length,  and  five  to  six  feet  in  depth ;  which  are  set  and 
anchored  by  stones  in  three  to  five  fathoms  water,  if  possible 
on  sandy,  or  fine  gravel,  bottom.  They  weigh  from  two  to  ten 
pounds.  They  are  a  delicate  fish,  the  net  ought  not  to  stand 
more  than  two  nights,  then  [it  ought  to  be]  taken  up  and 
washed  in  hot  water,  dried  and  mended  :  Some  of  the  Lakes 
have  only  a  fall  fishery  and  another  in  the  spring,  in  this  case 
the  fish  are  frozen,  and  lose  part  of  their  good  taste.  Fish  do 
not  bear  keeping,  the  maxim  is  ;  "  from  the  hook  or  the  net 
directly  into  the  kettle  "  of  boiHng  water.  Those  who  live 
wholly  on  fish,  without  any  sauce,  and  frequently  without 
salt,  know  how  to  cook  fish  in  their  best  state,  for  sauces 
make  a  fish  taste  well,  which  otherwise  would  not  be  eatable. 
There  are  two  species  of  Carp,  the  red "  and  grey  ;  ^  the  former 
is  a  tolerable  fish  ;  the  latter  is  so  full  of  small  bones,  only 
the  head  and  shoulders  are  eaten.  They  spawn  in  the  spring, 
on  the  small  Rapids,  are  in  shoals,  the  prey  of  the  Eagle,  the 
Bear,  and  other  animals.  The  Sturgeon  *  to  be  good  must  be 
caught  in  muddy  Lakes,  he  is  the  fresh  water  hog,  fond  of 
being  in  shoal  alluvials  ;  in  such  lakes  it  is  a  rich  fish  ;  but  in 
clear  water  not  so  good  ;   they  weigh  from  ten  to  fifty  pounds. 

^  Several  species  of  Coregonus.     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Catostomus  catostomus  (Forster).     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Moxostoma  lesneuri  (Richardson).      [E.  A.  P.] 
*  Acipenser  rubicundus  Le  Sueur.     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  61 

The  Pickerel/  the  Perch  ^  and  Methy  ^  are  all  common ; 
these  are  all  the  varieties  of  fish  found  in  this  region  worth 
notice. 

With  the  Spring  a  variety  of  small  birds  arrive,  they 
breed  and  remain  during  the  summer,  and  depart  for  the 
southward  in  Autumn,  they  are  all  known  to  Europe.  The 
Whippoorwill  *  arrives  in  the  month  of  March.  In  the  after- 
noon and  evening  as  well  as  the  morning,  he  flits  from  tree 
to  tree  about  ten  feet  above  the  snow,  with  it's  head  down- 
wards, repeats  it's  cry  of  Whip  poor  will  for  two,  or  three 
minutes,  and  then  flies  to  another  tree ;  only  one  species  is 
known.  The  natives  regard  it  as  a  peculiar  bird  and  never 
hurt  it.  In  some  summers  the  flocks  of  Pigeons  ^  are  numerous, 
and  make  sad  havoc  of  the  Straw  and  Raspberries,  in  other 
summers  they  are  very  few.  The  Rooks  ^  arrive  in  the  latter 
end  of  April.  The  Natives  regard  the  time  of  their  arrival 
as  the  sure  sign  that  winter  has  passed  away,  and  the  mild 
weather  set  in.  The  British  population  in  Canada  call  them 
Crows,  which  latter  bird  is  not  known  in  North  America. 
Two  species  of  Eagle  visit  us,  the  large  brown  Eagle'  is  seen 
in  March,  and  gives  it's  name  to  the  Moon  of  this  month  ; 
it  is  merely  a  visitor,  soars  high,  seldom  alights,  and  then 
shows  itself  a  most  majestic  bird  ;  it  is  sometimes  shot,  as  the 
Natives  set  a  high  value  on  its  plumage,  and  respect  it  as  the 
master  of  all  other  birds ;  from  the  tip  of  one  wing  to  the  tip 
of  the  other  wing,  it  has  been  measured  nine  feet ;  it's  talons 
are  long,  very  curved  and  strong,   and  it  strikes  with  great 

1  Probably  Stizostedion  vitreum  (Mitchill),  the  Wall-eyed  Pike  or  Pike- 
perch.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  The  Yellow  Perch,  Perca  flavescens  (Mitchill),  is  probably  found  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  region.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Lota  maculosa  (Le  Sueur).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  I  am  unable  to  decide  what  bird  is  meant  ;   perhaps  some  small  owl, 
but  certainly  not  the  Whip-poor-will.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Ectopistes  migratorius  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  The  American  Crow,  Corviis  brachyrhynchos  Brehm.     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Aquila  chryscBtos  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


62       DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

force ;  it  is  supposed  capable  of  carrying  off  a  bird  equal  to 
it's  own  weight,  which  is  ten  to  twelve  pounds,  some  have 
weighed  fourteen  pounds ;  yet  the  great  Eagle  of  the  Plains 
is  larger  than  these.  The  Gray  Goose  ^  is  accounted  a  very 
swift  bird  on  the  wing,  at  a  distance  we  perceived  a  flock  of 
these  geese  pursued  by  an  Eagle.  The  latter  did  not  seem  to 
gain  much  on  the  former,  they  passed  about  one  hundred 
yards  from  us  (out  of  shot),  the  Eagle  was  then  close  to  them, 
and  going  a  short  distance  further,  it  came  up  to  the  third 
goose  from  the  rear,  and  with  one  of  it's  claws,  drove  it's 
talons  thro'  the  back  of  the  goose  close  behind  the  wings,  it 
fell  as  if  shot,  the  Eagle  stooped  to  take  it,  we  ran  and 
frightened  it  away  ;  and  it  kept  on  its  flight  after  the  other 
geese ;  we  picked  up  the  goose,  quite  dead,  the  claws  had 
perforated  through  the  back  bone  over  the  heart.  As  they 
passed  us,  we  remarked,  the  Eagle  gained  fast  on  the  geese. 

The  Hawks  in  like  manner  strike  the  birds  they  prey  on  ; 
The  Natives  say  the  Eagle  readily  carries  off  Ducks  and  Hares, 
but  the  gray  goose  is  too  heavy  for  him,  but  he  soon  tears  it 
to  pieces  with  his  sharp  crooked  beak  ;  the  Fox  will  contend 
with  the  Hawks  for  the  birds  they  kill  in  the  great  Marshes 
and  plains,  but  never  with  the  Eagle.  The  wolf  tries  for  the 
prey  of  the  latter,  and  is  sure  to  be  beaten. 

The  other  species  of  Eagle  is  the  White  Headed,^  from  the 
head  and  upper  part  of  the  neck  being  covered  with  white 
feathers  which  lie  close  on  each  other,  it  is  called  the  bald- 
headed  Eagle.  I  believe  it  to  be  peculiar  to  North  America, 
the  color  of  the  rest  of  the  neck,  and  of  the  body,  is  all  the 
shades  of  a  deep  brown,  with  tinges  of  dark  yellow.  It  lives 
mostly  on  fish,  without  any  objection  to  a  chance  hare  or 
duck.  They  are  generally  found  in  pairs,  and  build  their 
nest  in  the  branches  of  a  poplar,  close  to  the  banks  of  a  Lake, 
or  River  ;    like  the  other  species  they  lay  only  two,  or  three 

1  Branta  canadensis  (Linn.).      [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Haliceetus  leucocephaliis  alascanus  Townsend.     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  63 

eggs,  and  rears  it's  young  with  great  care  :  as  it  is,  compara- 
tively, slow  of  flight,  although  it's  wings  extend  seven  to 
eight  feet,  it  hovers  over  the  surface  of  the  water,  [looking] 
for  some  fish  of  a  weight  that  it  can  take  out  of  the  water, 
and  carry  off  to  it's  nest.  That  it  is  successful  the  old,  and 
young  eagles,  attest  by  their  fatness ;  the  inside  fat  is 
purgative,  and  when  they  feed  on  trout,  highly  so  :  their 
flesh  is  eaten  by  the  Natives,  as  being  more  fat  and  juicy, 
and  [they]  prefer  them  to  Grouse.  They  seize  their  prey  by 
the  back,  between  the  fins,  and  if  weighty,  make  for  the 
shore ;  and  there  with  their  beak  cut  off  the  head  of  the 
fish,  and  thus  take  it  to  the  nest.  It  sometimes  strikes  a  fish 
too  weighty  for  it,  in  this  case  the  fish  carries  the  Eagle  under 
water  where  it  loosens  it's  claws,  and  comes  to  the  surface, 
its  feathers  all  wet.  It  floats  well,  but  as  it  cannot  swim,  is 
drifted  to  the  shore  by  the  wind  or  current,  and  must  wait 
for  it's  feathers  to  dry,  before  it  can  take  flight. 

There  are  five  species  of  Hawk,  three  pass  the  winter. 
They  prey  on  everything  they  can  master.  There  are  four 
species  of  the  owl,  one  of  them  is  very  small.  Two  of  the 
others  are  large,  one  of  these  is  called  the  great  White  Owl ;  ^ 
it  weighs  from  ten  to  twelve  pounds  :  the  other  is  the  noted 
Horned  Owl,^  so  named  from  it's  having  on  each  side  of  the 
head,  stiff,  erect,  feathers  in  shape  and  size,  Hke  the  ears  of 
the  White  Fox  ;  it  is  a  fine  looking,  grave  bird,  with  large 
lustrous  eyes,  and  in  the  dark  sees  remarkably  well,  and  preys 
wholly  in  the  night.  They  are  easily  tamed,  I  have  often 
kept  one  during  the  winter ;  it  lived  chiefly  on  mice,  which 
it  never  attempts  to  swallow  until  it  is  sure  it  is  dead,  of  this 
it  judges  by  the  animal  ceasing  to  move  ;  perched  on  it's 
stand,  and  a  live  mouse  presented  to  it,  with  its  formidable 
talons,  it  seized  the  mouse  by  the  loins,  and  instantly  carried 
it  to  its  mouth,  and  crushed  the  head  of  the  mouse ;    still 

1  Nyctea  nyctea  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Bubo  virginianus  subarcticus  Hoy.     [E.  A.  P.] 


64       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

holding  it  in  one  of  it's  claws,  it  watched  till  all  motion 
ceased  and  then  head  foremost  swallowed  the  mouse  :  often 
while  the  owl  was  watching  the  cessation  of  motion,  with 
the  end  of  a  small  willow,  I  have  touched  the  head  of  the 
mouse,  which  instantly  received  another  crush  in  it's  beak, 
and  thus  [it]  continued  till  it  was  weary,  when  losening  it's 
claws,  it  seized  the  mouse  by  the  head  ;  by  giving  motion  to 
the  body,  it  crushed  it,  and  have  thus  vexed  it  until  the 
body  was  in  a  pulp,  yet  the  skin  whole  ;  by  leaving  the  Mouse 
quiet  for  about  half  a  minute,  it  was  swallowed ;  from 
seve[ral]  experiments  I  concluded  that  to  carnivorous  birds, 
the  death  of  its  prey  is  only  known  by  the  cessation  of 
motion  :  like  all  other  birds  that  swallow  their  prey  whole, 
the  hair,  if  an  animal,  or  the  feathers  if  a  bird,  are  by  some 
process  in  the  stomach,  rolled  into  hard,  small,  round  balls, 
and  ejected  from  the  mouth  with  a  slight  force.  The  meat 
of  the  Owl  is  good  and  well  tasted  to  hunters.  The  aquatic 
birds  are  more  numerous,  and  in  great  variety  :  but  they 
pass  to  the  southward  as  the  cold  weather  comes  on.  They 
arrive  in  the  month  of  May,  and  leave  us  by  the  middle,  or 
latter  end  of  October,  as  the  season  may  be.  There  are  two 
species  of  Swan,  the  largest  ^  weighs  about  twenty  four  pounds, 
the  lesser  ^  about  fifteen,  when  fat.  They  lay  from  seven  to 
nine  eggs.  When  shot,  twelve  eggs  have  been  counted  in 
them  ;  but  nine  is  the  greatest  number  I  have  found  in  a 
nest,  and  also  of  the  number  they  rear  ;  when  fat  they  are 
good  eating,  but  when  poor  the  flesh  is  hard  and  dry.  They 
are  a  shy  bird,  and  their  nests  not  often  found  :  they  frequent 
the  lesser  Lakes ;  and  seldom  approach  the  shores.  The 
Natives  often  shoot  them  in  the  night ;  for  this  purpose,  fir 
wood,  spHt  into  laths,  to  burn  freely,  is  made  into  small 
parcels,  one  of  which  is  placed  in  an  old  kettle,  or  one  made 
of  wood,  placed  on  a  strong,  short,  stick,  to  keep  it  two,  or 

1  Trumpeter  Swan,  Olor  buccinator  (Richardson).     [E.  A.  P.] 
*  Whistling  Swan,  Olor  columbianus  (Ord).     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  65 

three  feet  above  the  Canoe.  When  it  is  quite  dark,  two 
Indians  embark,  one  steers  the  Canoe  quietly,  and  steadily, 
towards  the  Swans,  (they  keep  near  each  other ;)  the  other  is 
in  the  bow  of  the  Canoe,  with  his  gun,  and  the  torch  wood ; 
which  is  lighted  and  soon  in  full  blaze,  and  is  kept  in  this 
state  by  the  man  in  the  bow  ;  as  soon  as  the  Swans  perceive 
the  fire,  they  commence,  and  continue  their  call  of  Koke, 
Koke.  They  appear  aware  of  danger,  but  are  fascinated  by 
the  fire,  they  keep  calling  and  swimming  half  round,  and  back 
in  the  same  place,  gazing  on  the  fire ;  until  the  Canoe  is 
within  about  thirty  yards,  when  the  bow  man,  by  the  light 
of  the  fire,  levels  his  gun,  and  shoots  the  Swan  nearest  to  him  ; 
if  he  has  two  guns  the  other  Swan  is  shot  as  he  rises  on  his 
flight.  Another  mode  by  which  the  Swan  is  enticed  within 
shot,  is,  the  Indian  lies  down  in  some  long  grass  rushes,  or 
willows  near  the  edge  of  the  Lake,  with  a  piece  of  very  white 
birch  rind  in  his  hand,  or  fastened  to  a  short  stick  ;  this  is 
made  to  show  like  a  Swan,  and  the  call  made ;  then  drawn 
back  ;  then  again  shown  ;  thus  it  attracts  the  Swans  who 
gently  approach,  to  within  shot ;  this  requires  great  patience, 
perhaps  three,  or  four  hours.  It  is  more  successful  with  a 
single  Swan,  than  with  a  pair,  or  more.  The  several  species 
of  Geese  I  have  akeady  noticed  :  but  very  few  breed  in  this 
region,  and  those  only  of  the  Gray  Geese,^  they  lay  from  eleven 
to  thirteen  Eggs  ;  which  they  will  defend  against  the  Fox 
and  the  Mink  to  no  purpose,  the  Eggs  are  sure  to  be  eaten  and 
perhaps  one  of  the  geese. 

There  is  a  great  variety  of  Ducks,  some  of  them  lay  fifteen 
eggs.  The  young  are  reared  with  great  care,  in  a  heavy- 
shower  of  rain  the  young  are  aU  under  their  parents  wings  ; 
one  variety  builds  in  hollow  trees,  which  it  enters  by  a  hole 
in  the  side  of  the  tree  ;   and  is  named  the  Wood  Duck.^     Two 

1  Branta  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  The  reference  is  probably  to  the  American  Goldeneye,  Clangula  c. 
americana  Bonap.     [E.  A.  P.] 

E 


66        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

species  of  Crane  ^  pass  the  open  season,  they  make  their  nests 
among  quagmire  rushes,  which  cannot  be  approached ;  they 
have  about  nine  young,  which  are  hidden  until  they  are  fully 
half  grown.  The  Bittern^  is  found  among  the  rushes,  reeds, 
and  tall  grass  of  the  marshes.  It  does  not  weigh  more  than 
three,  or  four,  pounds,  and  holding  it's  long  neck  and  bill 
erect  it  gives  a  hollow  note,  as  loud  almost  as  an  Ox.  And 
keeping  itself  hid,  those  not  acquainted  with  it,  are  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  animal  it  can  be  ;  it  takes  it's  name  from  having 
on  each  breast  a  narrow  stripe  about  two  inches  in  length, 
of  rough,  raised,  yellow  skin,  which  is  very  bitter,  and  must 
be  taken  off,  otherwise,  this  well  tasted  bird  is  too  bitter  to 
be  eaten.  Like  the  Crane,  it  lives  on  Roots,  frogs  and  small 
lizards.  Of  the  Plover,  there  are  a  few  species,  they  are  not 
plenty,  the  Boys  kill  them  with  their  arrows.  The  water  is 
the  element  of  the  Loon,^  on  the  land  he  is  unable  to  walk, 
his  legs  being  placed  too  far  backwards,  nor  from  the  ground 
can  he  raise  his  flight,  and  is  quite  helpless  ;  but  in  the  water, 
of  all  birds  he  is  the  most  completely  at  home.  He  swims 
swiftly  and  dives  well,  going  under  water  apparently  with 
the  same  ease,  as  on  the  surface ;  he  has  the  power  of  placing 
his  body  at  any  depth,  and  when  harassed  in  a  small  lake, 
places  his  body  under  water  to  be  secure  from  the  shot, 
leaving  only  his  neck  and  head  exposed  and  this  he  sinks  to 
the  head  ;  in  any  of  these  positions  he  remains  at  pleasure  ; 
he  prefers  acting  thus  on  the  defensive,  than  flying  away,  for 
being  very  short  winged,  he  has  to  go  some  thirty  yards  near 
the  surface  before  he  can  raise  his  flight,  and  is  so  steady  on 
the  wing,  that  he  is  accounted  a  dead  shot  :  the  Loon  is 
very  destructive  among  the  small  fish,  yet  seldom  fat  :  it 
lays  only  three  eggs,  when  boiled,  the  inside  appears  streaked 

*  Brown  Crane,  Grus  canadensis  (Linn.)  ;    and  Whooping  Crane,  Grus 
americana  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Botaurus  lentiginosus  (Montagu).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Gavia  immer  (Briinn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  67 

black  and  yellow,  and  [they]  are  so  ill  tasted  they  cannot  be 
eaten,  it's  flesh  is  also  bad.     When  on  discovery  to  the  north- 
ward, one  evening  on  camping  we  found  a  Loons  nest ;    the 
eggs  were  taken,  but  were  found  not  to  be  eatable  :    two 
Lads  lay  down  near  the  nest,  in  the  night  the  pair  of  Loons 
came,  and  missing  their  eggs,  fell  upon  the  Lads,  screeching 
and  screaming,  and  beating  them  with  their  wings ;   the  Lads 
thought  themselves  attacked  by  enemies,  and  roared  out  for 
help  ;    two  of  us  threw  off  our  blankets  and  seized  our  guns, 
the  Loons  seeing  this  returned  to  the  Lake,  we  were  at  a  loss 
what  to  think  or  do,  the  Lads  were  frightened  out  of  their 
wits ;   in  a  few  minutes  we  heard  the  wild  call  of  the  Loons  ; 
the  Indian  said  it  was  the  Loons,  in  revenge  for  the  loss  of 
their  eggs ;    and  giving  them  his  hearty  curse  of  "  death  be 
to  you,"  told  us  there  was  no  danger,  and  the  Loons  left  us 
quiet  for  the  rest  of  the  night.     The  PeHcan  ^  is  represented 
as  a  soHtary  bird,  it  may  be  so  in  other  countries  ;   but  not  in 
this  region.     They  are  always  in  pairs,  or  in  flocks  of  five  to 
twenty.     This  is  the  largest  fishing  bird  in  the  country,  it  is 
occasionally  shot,  or  knocked  on  the  head  for  it's  feathers  and 
pouch  ;    the  color  is  a  dirty  white,  the  wings  extend  about 
seven  and  a  half  feet ;    it's  height  is  about  thirty  to  thirty 
four  inches,   of  which  the   bill,  which  is  straight,   measures 
about  fourteen  inches,  it  is  capacious,  and  under  the  bill  and 
upper  part  of  the  throat  is   a  pouch  that  will   hold    a  full 
quart  of  water.     This  bird  when  measured  from  the  end  of 
the  tail  to  the  point  of  the  beak  is  about  five  feet  in  length ; 
it's   tail  feathers  are   used  for  arrows,  and  the  pouch,  when 
cleaned  and  dried,  is  used  to  keep  tobacco  and  Bear's  weed 
for  smoking  ;    The  Pelican   is  very  destructive  among  small 
fish  to  a  pound  in  weight.     It  has  a  wide  throat,  and  after 
filling  it's  stomach,  also  fills  it's  pouch,  which  becomes  much 
distended,  and  half  putrid,  is,  fish  by  fish,  emptied  into  the 

^  White  Pelican,  Pelecanus  erythrorhynchos  Gmel.     [E.  A.  P.] 


68       DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

throat.  Such  is  it's  fishing  habits  in  the  morning,  and  the 
same  in  the  afternoon ;  they  frequent  the  Rapids  of  small 
Streams,  and  when  thus  gorged  sit  close  to  each  other  in  a 
line.  In  this  state  they  are  unable  to  fly,  and  when  our 
voyage  in  canoes  leads  us  among  them,  before  they  can  rise, 
they  have  to  disgorge  the  putrid  fish  in  their  pouches,  the 
smell  of  which  is  so  very  bad,  that  we  hury  past  as  fast  as 
possible ;  the  Black  Bears, ^  who  frequent  the  same  Rapids, 
never  injure  them  ;  these  birds  are  so  impure,  they  are  the 
bye  word  of  the  Natives  and  the  Traders,  There  are  two 
species  of  Cormorant,^  both  of  them  very  expert  in  fishing, 
their  flesh  and  Eggs  are  almost  as  bad  as  those  of  the  Loon ; 
There  are  also  several  species  of  the  Merganser,  or  fishing 
Ducks, ^  altho'  they  live  on  fish,  yet  both  their  flesh  and  eggs 
are  eatable,  when  no  better  can  be  got  :  The  three  species 
of  Gulls  *  conclude  the  list  of  birds  that  Hve  on  fish ;  they  are 
all  good  to  eat,  their  eggs  are  good  as  those  of  a  Duck,  especi- 
ally the  largest  kind  which  is  the  size  of  a  teal  duck  ;  their 
young  cannot  fly  until  they  are  full  grown,  and  as  all  the 
species  are  too  Hght  to  dive,  become  an  easy  prey  to  the  Eagle, 
the  Hawk,  and  to  Man  :  On  some  of  the  Islets  in  the  Lakes, 
they  breed  in  such  numbers  that  the  Native  Women  collect 
as  many  as  their  blankets  can  hold. 

AH  the  Animals  of  this  Region  are  known  to  the  civilized 
world,  I  shall  therefore  only  give  those  traits  of  them  which 
naturaHsts  do  not,  or  have  not  noticed  in  their  discriptions . 
There  are  two  species  of  the  Mouse,  the  common,^  and  the 

1   Ursus  americanus  Pallas.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  But  one  species,  Phalacrocorax  auritus  (Lesson).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Common  Merganser,  Mergus  americanus  Cass.  ;  Red-breasted  Mer- 
ganser, Mergus  serrator  Linn. ;  and  Hooded  Merganser,  Lophodytes  cuctil- 
latus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  The  three  most  likely  to  be  referred  to  are  the  Herring  Gull,  Lams 
argentatus  Pontoppidan  ;  Ring-billed  Gull,  Larus  delawarensis  Ord  ;  and 
the  Common  Tern,  Sterna  hirundo  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  White-footed  Mouse,  Peromyscus  maniculatus  borealis  Mearns. 
[E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  69 

field  Mouse  ^  with  a  short  tail ;  they  appear  to  be  numerous, 
and  build  a  House  where  we  will,  as  soon  as  it  is  inhabited 
they  make  their  appearance ;  but  the  country  is  clear  of  the 
plague  of  the  Norway  Rat,^  which,  although  he  comes  from 
England,  part  owner  of  the  cargo,  as  yet  has  not  travelled 
beyond  the  Factories  at  the  sea  side.  The  Ermine,^  this  active 
little  animal  is  an  Ermine  only  in  winter,  in  summer  of  a 
light  brown  color,  he  is  most  indefatigable  after  mice  and 
small  birds,  and  in  the  season,  a  plunderer  of  eggs ;  wherever 
we  build,  some  of  them  soon  make  their  burrows,  and  some- 
times become  too  familiar.  Having  in  June  purchased  from 
a  Native  about  three  dozen  of  Gull  eggs,  I  put  them  in  a 
room,  up  stairs,  a  plain  flight  of  about  eight  feet.  The  Ermine 
soon  found  them,  and  having  made  a  meal  of  one  egg,  was 
determined  to  carry  the  rest  to  his  burrow  for  his  young  ; 
I  watched  to  see  how  he  would  take  the  eggs  down  stairs ; 
holding  an  egg  between  his  throat  and  two  fore  paws,  he  came 
to  the  head  of  the  stairs ;  there  he  made  a  long  stop,  at  a 
loss  how  to  get  the  egg  down  without  breaking  it,  his  resolu- 
tion was  taken,  and  holding  fast  to  the  egg  dropped  down  to 
the  next  stair  on  his  neck  and  back ;  and  thus  to  the  floor, 
and  carried  it  to  his  nest :  he  returned  and  brought  two 
more  eggs  in  the  same  manner ;  while  he  was  gone  for  the 
fourth,  I  took  the  three  eggs  away  ;  laying  down  the  egg  he 
brought,  he  looked  all  around  for  the  others,  standing  on  his 
hind  legs  and  chattering,  he  was  evidently  in  a  fighting 
humour ;  at  length  he  set  off  and  brought  another,  these 
two  I  took  away,  and  he  arrived  with  the  sixth  egg,  which  I 
allowed  him  to  keep  ;  he  was  too  fatigued  to  go  for  another. 
The  next  morning  he  returned,  but  the  eggs  were  in  a  basket 
out  of  his  reach,  he  knew  where  they  were  but  could  not  get 

1  Meadow    Mouse,    Microtus    pennsylvanicus    drummondi    (Aud.    and 
Bach.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Epimys  norvegicus  Erxleben.     [E.  A.  P.] 
3  Mustela  cicognani  Bonap.     [E.  A.  P.] 


70       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

at  them,  and  after  chattering  awhile,  had  to  look  for  other 
prey.  In  winter  we  take  the  Ermine  in  small  traps  for  the 
skin,  which  is  valued  to  ornament  dresses. 

There  are  two  separate  species  of  Squirrel,  the  common  ^ 
and  the  flying  Squirrel,^  the  former  burrows  under  the  roots 
of  large  Pines,  from  which  he  has  several  outlets,  [so]  that 
when  the  Marten,  or  the  Fox  dig  for  him,  he  has  a  safe  egress, 
and  escapes  up  the  tree  with  surprising  agiHty,  where  he  is 
safe.  The  flying  Squirrel  is  about  one  fifth  larger,  and  of 
the  same  color,  it's  name  arises  from  a  hairy  membrane,  which 
on  each  side  extends  from  the  fore  to  the  hind  leg  :  and  which 
it  extends  when  leaping  from  tree  to  tree ;  this  latter  builds 
it's  nest  in  the  trees ;  they  both  feed  on  the  cones  of  the 
Pine,  using  only  those  in  a  dry  state ;  they  are  numerous ; 
their  elegant  forms,  agile  movements,  and  chatterings,  very 
much  reheve  the  silence  of  the  Pine  Forests.  The  haunts  of 
the  Marten^  are  confined  to  the  extensive  forests  of  Pine, 
especially  the  thickest  parts,  they  are  of  the  size  of  a  large  cat, 
but  of  a  more  compact  and  stronger  make ;  the  color  brown, 
the  deeper  color  the  more  valuable,  some  few  approach  to  a 
black  color ;  two  he,  or  three  she  Martens,  in  trade  are  of 
the  value  of  one  Beaver.  They  are  always  on  the  hunt  of 
mice,  squirrels  and  birds  :  They  are  caught  in  traps,  already 
described  ;  and  as  their  skins  are  valuable,  and  their  flesh 
good,  they  are  trapped  by  the  Natives  and  the  Men  of  the 
Factories  :  the  best  bait  for  them  is  the  head  of  a  Grouse 
with  the  feathers  on  ;  or  the  head  of  a  hare  ;  even  the  leg 
of  a  hare  is  preferred  to  a  bait  of  frozen  meat,  which  he 
seldom  takes.  Among  the  Natives  the  snareing  of  hares,  and 
trapping  of  Martens  are  the  business  of  the  Women,  and 
become  their  property  for  trade.  The  White  Men  sometimes 
make  ranges  of  Marten  Traps  for  the  length  of  forty  or  fifty 

1  Spruce  Squirrel,  Sciurus  htidsonicus  Erxleben.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Sciuropterus  sabrinus  (Shaw).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Maries  americana  abieticola  (Preble).     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK  RAT   COUNTRY  71 

miles,  at  about  six  to  eight  traps  p'  mile  :  in  this  case  the 
Trapper  makes  a  hut  of  Pine  Branches  about  every  ten  miles, 
which  length  of  traps  is  as  much  as  he  can  manage  in  a  day ; 
the  trapping  is  most  successful  in  the  month  of  November 
and  early  part  of  December  :  and  the  months  of  February 
and  March,  after  which  the  skin  soon  becomes  out  of  season. 
At  each  hut  the  Trapper  ought  to  leave  a  stock  of  fire  wood 
sufficient  for  the  next  night  he  passes  there,  as  he  frequently 
does  not  arrive  until  the  daylight  is  gone,  and  cutting  wood 
in  the  night  is  dangerous.  An  old  acquaintance  who  had  a 
long  range  of  traps,  had  neglected  to  leave  fire  wood  at  the 
hut  at  the  end  of  the  range,  arriving  late  in  the  evening  had 
to  cut  fire  wood  for  the  night,  with  aU  his  caution  a  twig 
caught  the  axe  and  made  the  blow  descend  on  his  foot,  which 
was  cut  from  the  little  toe,  to  near  the  instep  ;  he  felt  the 
blood  gushing,  but  finished  cutting  the  wood  required ; 
having  put  everything  in  order,  he  took  off  his  shoe  and  the 
two  blanket  socks,  tore  up  a  spare  shirt,  and  bound  up  the 
wound,  using  for  salve  a  piece  of  tallow  ;  he  was  six  days 
journey  from  the  Factory  and  alone ;  the  next  morning, 
having  mended  his  shoe  and  socks  he  got  them  on,  but  how 
to  march  forward  was  the  difficulty ;  a  hut  with  firewood  at 
the  end  of  every  ten  miles  along  the  range  was  some  encourage- 
ment ;  having  tied  his  blankets  and  little  baggage  on  the  flat 
sled  which  every  Trapper  has,  with  pain  he  tied  his  foot  to 
the  snow  shoe,  then  tied  a  string  to  the  bar  of  the  snow- 
shoe,  the  other  end  in  his  hand,  thus  set  off  alone,  to  perform 
a  winter  journey  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles, 
hauling  a  sled,  and  with  one  hand  Hfting  his  wounded  foot, 
the  Snow  Shoe  was  steady  and  soft  on  the  snow ;  the  first 
mile  made  him  stop  several  times,  and  shook  his  resolution  ; 
but  continuing  his  foot  became  less  painful  and  could  easily 
be  borne  ;  he  had  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  Trapper  in  him 
that  he  could  not  pass  a  trap  in  which  a  Marten  was  caught 
without  taking  it  out,  although  it  added  to  the  weight  he 


72       DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

was  hauling  :  In  the  evening  he  arrived  at  the  first  hut,  put 
every  thing  in  order,  lighted  his  fire,  and  sat  down,  and  as  he 
told  me,  [was]  more  proud  of  the  fortitude  of  the  day,  than  of 
any  day  of  his  life  ;  he  slept  well,  his  foot  did  not  swell ;  and 
the  next  morning,  with  some  pain  [he]  renewed  his  journey 
to  the  second  hut ;  and  thus  to  the  fifth  hut.  During  these 
days  he  had  the  trapping  path  to  walk  on,  which  was  soft 
and  steady ;  he  had  now  about  sixty  miles  to  go  without  a 
path  ;  he  had  now  to  hang  up  the  Martens  and  everything  he 
could  do  without,  boil  the  bark  of  the  Larch  Tree  which  lies 
close  to  the  wood,  beat  it  to  a  soft  poultice  and  lay  it  on  the 
woimd  ;  his  sled  was  now  light  and  his  hand  regular  in  lifting 
his  foot  and  snow  shoe  ;  in  five  days  he  arrived  at  the  Factory 
having  suffered  much  each  evening  in  getting  firewood : 
during  all  this  time  of  travelling  his  foot  was  not  in  the  least 
swelled  ;  when  at  the  Factory  he  thought  he  would  be  at 
his  ease,  but  this  was  not  the  case,  his  foot  became  swollen, 
with  considerable  pain,  and  for  a  month  he  had  to  make  use 
of  a  crutch. 

I  have  often  tried  to  tame  the  Marten,  but  could  never 
trust  him  beyond  his  chain  :  to  one  which  I  kept  some  time, 
I  brought  a  small  hawk  slightly  wounded,  and  placed  it  near 
him,  he  seemed  wiUing  to  get  away  ;  and  did  not  like  it ; 
two  days  after  I  winged  a  middle  sized  owl,  and  brought  it 
to  him,  he  appeared  afraid  of  it,  and  would  willingly  have 
run  away,  but  did  not  dare  to  cease  watching  it.  Shortly 
after  I  found  a  Hare  in  one  of  the  snares  just  taken.  I  brought 
it  alive  to  near  the  Marten,  he  became  much  agitated,  the 
skin  of  his  head  distorted  to  a  ferocious  aspect,  he  chattered, 
sprung  to  the  Hare,  as  if  with  mortal  hatred  ;  this  appeared 
to  me  strangely  unaccountable,  aU  this  state  of  excitement 
against  a  weak  animal  it's  common  prey.  Walking  quickly 
through  the  Forest  to  visit  the  snares  and  traps,  I  have 
several  times  been  amused  with  the  Marten  trying  to  steal 
the  Hare,  suspended  by  a  snare  from  a  pole  ;    the  Marten  is 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  78 

very  active,  but  the  soft  snow  does  not  allow  him  to  spring 
more  than  his  own  height  above  the  surface  ;  the  Hare  is 
suspended  full  five  feet  above  the  surface  ;  determined  to 
get  the  Hare,  he  finds  the  pole  to  which  the  Hare  is  hanging, 
and  running  along  the  pole,  when  near  the  small  end,  his 
weight  over  balances  the  other  end,  and  the  Marten  is  pre- 
cipitated into  the  snow  with  the  hare,  before  he  recovers, 
the  pole  has  risen  with  the  Hare  out  of  his  reach ;  he  would 
stand  on  his  hind  feet,  chatter  at  the  hare  with  vexation  ; 
return  to  the  Pole,  to  try  to  get  the  hare,  to  be  again  plunged 
in  the  snow  ;  how  long  he  would  have  continued,  I  do  not 
know,  the  cold  did  not  allow  me  to  remain  long ;  seeing  me, 
he  ran  away. 

The  Lynx^  may  be  regarded  as  a  very  large  cat,  readily 
climbs  trees,  and  preys  on  Mice,  Hares,  Squirrels  and  Birds, 
it's  habits  are  those  of  a  Cat :  it  is  a  shy  animal ;  it's  skin 
is  not  much  worth,  the  skin  being  thin  and  weak  ;  the  Natives 
take  this  animal  in  a  trap,  in  which  is  a  wisp  of  grass  roUed 
round  some  Castorum  and  the  oil  stones  of  the  Beaver,^  against 
this  he  rubs  his  head,  displaces  the  stick  which  suspends  the 
trap,  and  he  is  caught ;  by  the  same  means  he  is  caught  in  a 
snare ;  while  rubbing  his  head  he  purrs  like  a  cat.  The  flesh 
is  white  and  good,  and  makes  a  good  roast. 

His  fine  large  lustrous  eyes  have  been  noticed  by  naturalists, 
and  other  writers,  they  are  certainly  beautiful,  but  better 
adapted  to  the  twilight,  than  the  glare  of  the  sunshine.  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  the  habits  of  the  Fox  are  better 
known  in  Europe  than  to  us,  for  in  populous  countries  it 
requires  all  his  wits  and  wiles  to  preserve  his  life.  The 
Wolverene,^  is  an  animal  unknown  to  other  parts  of  the  world, 
and  we  would  willingly  dispense  with  his  being  round  here. 
It  is  a  strong,  well  made,  powerful  animal;    his  legs  short, 

^  Lynx  canadensis  Kerr.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Castor  canadensis  Kuhl,     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Gulo  luscus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


74       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

armed  with  long  sharp  claws,  he  climbs  trees  with  ease  and 
nothing  is  safe  that  he  can  get  at ;  by  nature  a  plunderer, 
and  mischievous,  he  is  the  plague  of  the  country. 

A  party  of  six  men  were  sent  to  square  timber  for  the 
Factory,  and  as  usual  left  their  heavy  axes  where  they  were 
working,  when  they  went  to  the  tent  for  the  night.  One 
morning  the  six  axes  were  not  to  be  found,  and  as  they  knew 
there  was  no  person  within  many  miles  of  them  they  were 
utterly  at  a  loss  what  to  think  or  do.  They  were  all  from 
the  very  north  of  Scotland,  and  staunch  believers  in  ghosts, 
fairies  and  such  like  folk,  except  one  ;  at  length  one  of  them 
who  thought  himself  wiser  than  the  rest,  addressed  his  un- 
believing companion,  "  Now  Jamie,  you  infidel,  this  comes  of 
your  laughing  at  ghosts  and  fairies,  I  told  you  that  they 
would  make  us  suffer  for  it,  here  now  all  our  axes  are  gone 
and  if  a  ghost  has  not  taken  them,  what  has .'' "  Jamie  was 
sadly  puzzled  what  to  say,  for  the  axes  were  gone ;  fortu- 
nately the  Indian  lad  who  was  tenting  with  them,  to  supply 
them  with  grouse  came  to  them  ;  they  told  him  all  their 
axes  were  taken  away,  upon  looking  about  he  perceived  the 
footmarks  of  a  Wolverene,  and  told  them  who  the  thief  was, 
which  they  could  not  believe  until  tracking  the  Wolverene, 
he  found  one  of  the  axes  hid  under  the  snow  :  in  like  manner 
three  more  were  found,  the  others  were  carried  to  some 
distance  and  took  two  hours  to  find  them,  they  were  aU 
hidden  separately,  and  to  secure  their  axes  they  had  to 
shoulder  them  every  evening  to  their  tent.  During  the 
winter  hunt,  the  feathers  of  the  birds  are  the  property  of  the 
hunters ;  and  those  of  the  white  Grouse  sell  for  six  pence  a 
pound  to  the  Officer's  of  the  ship,  we  gave  our  share  to  Robert 
Tennant,  whom  we  called  Old  Scot.  He  had  collected  the 
feathers  of  about  300  grouse  in  a  canvas  bag,  and  to  take  it 
to  the  Factory,  tied  it  on  the  Dog's  sled,  but  some  snow 
having  fallen  in  the  night,  the  hauUng  was  heavy  ;  and  after 
going  a  short  distance  the  bag  of  feathers  had  to  be  left, 


MUSK    RAT   COUNTRY  75 

which  was  suspended  to  the  branch  of  a  tree  ;  On  our  return 
we  were  surprized  to  see  feathers  on  the  snow,  on  coming  to 
the  tree  on  which  we  had  hung  the  bag  we  found  a  wolverene 
had  cut  it  down,  torn  the  bag  to  pieces,  and  scattered  the 
feathers  so  as  hardly  to  leave  two  together.  He  was  too 
knowing  for  a  trap  but  [was]  killed  by  a  set  Gun.  In  trapping 
of  Martens,  ranges  of  traps  sometimes  extend  forty  miles,  or 
more.  An  old  trapper  always  begins  with  a  Wolverene  trap, 
and  at  the  end  of  every  twenty  traps  makes  one  for  the 
Wolverene,  this  is  a  work  of  some  labor,  as  the  trap  must  be 
strongly  made  and  well  loaded,  for  this  strong  animal,  his 
weight  is  about  that  of  an  engHsh  Mastiff,  but  more  firmly 
made ;  his  skin  is  thick,  the  hair  coarse,  of  a  dark  brown  color, 
value  about  ten  shilHngs,  but  to  encourage  the  natives  to 
kill  it,  [it]  is  valued  at  two  beavers,  being  four  times  it's  real 
value. 

Of  the  three  species  of  Wolf,^  only  one  is  found  in  this 
stony  region  that  I  have  described,  and  this  species  appears 
pecuUar  to  this  region  ;  it  is  the  largest  of  them,  and  by  way 
of  convenience  is  called  the  Wood,  or  Forest  Wolf,  as  it  is 
not  found  elsewhere ;  it's  form  and  color  [is]  much  the  same 
as  the  others,  of  a  dark  grey,  the  hair,  though  not  coarse, 
cannot  be  called  soft  and  fine,  it  is  in  plenty,  and  with  the 
skin  makes  warm  clothing.  It  is  a  solitary  animal.  Two  are 
seldom  seen  together  except  when  in  chase  of  some  animal 
of  the  Deer  species.  Fortunately  they  are  not  numerous, 
they  are  very  rarely  caught  in  a  trap,  but  redily  take  the 
bait  of  a  set  Gun,  and  [are]  killed.  The  cased  skin  of  one  of 
these  Wolves,  came  with  ease  over  a  man  of  six  feet,  two 
inches  in  height  dressed  in  his  winter  clothing,  and  was  ten 
inches  above  his  head,  yet  powerful  and  active  as  he  is,  he 
is  not  known  to  attack  mankind,  except  in  a  rare  case  of  some- 
thing Hke  canine  madness,  and  his  bite  does  not  produce 
hydrophobia.     At    least    it    never    has    been    so   among   the 

^  Cants  occidentalis  Richardson.     [E.  A.  P.] 


76        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Natives,  and  the  dogs  bitten  by  him,  only  suffer  the  pain  of 
the  bite.  Foxes  have  sometimes  this  canine  madness  or  some- 
thing like  it,  but  hydrophobia  is  wholly  unknown.  Two  of 
these  Wolves  are  a  full  match  of  either  the  Moose,^  or  Rein 
Deer,^  the  only  two  species  found  in  this  region.  When  they 
start  one  of  these  Deer,  they  are  left  far  behind,  but  the 
Deer  must  stop  to  feed,  they  then  come  up  to,  and  again 
start  the  Deer,  and  thus  continue  until  the  animal,  harrassed 
for  want  of  food  and  rest  becomes  weak  and  turns  to  bay  in 
this  state  ready  to  defend  itself  with  it's  powerful  feet.  The 
wolves  cautiously  approach,  one  going  close  in  front  to 
threaten  an  attack,  yet  keeping  out  of  the  reach  of  it's  fore 
feet.  The  other  wolf  goes  behind,  keeping  a  Httle  on  one  side 
to  be  out  of  the  direct  stroke  of  the  hind  feet ;  and  watching, 
gives  a  sharp  bite  to  cut  the  back  sinew  of  one  of  the  hind 
legs,  this  brings  on  a  smart  stroke  of  the  hind  legs  of  the 
Deer,  but  the  wolf  is  on  one  side,  and  repeats  his  bites  until 
the  back  sinew  is  cut,  the  Deer  can  now  no  longer  defend 
itself,  the  back  sinew  of  the  other  hind  leg  is  soon  cut,  the 
Deer  falls  down  and  becomes  the  easy  prey  of  the  Wolves  ; 
the  tongue  and  the  bowels  are  the  first  to  be  devoured.  From 
the  teeth  of  the  old  Wolves  being  sharp  pointed,  it  does  not 
appear  they  knaw  the  bones,  but  only  clean  them  of  the 
flesh,  and  in  this  state  we  find  the  bones.  The  Deer  in 
summer  sometimes  takes  to  the  water,  but  this  only  prolongs 
his  life  for  a  few  hours.  They  are  very  destructive  to  the 
young  deer ;  and  their  loud  bowlings  in  the  night  make  the 
Deer  start  from  their  beds  and  run  to  a  greater  distance. 
When  wounded,  he  will  defend  himself,  but  tries  to  get  away, 
and  dies  as  hard  as  he  lived.  There  is  something  in  the  erect 
form  of  man,  while  he  shows  no  fear,  that  awes  every  animal. 
The  animals  described  in  this  Stony  Region  are  few  in  pro- 
portion to  the  extent  of  country,  the  Natives  with  all  their 

>  A  Ices  americanus  (Clinton).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Rangifer  sylvestris  (Richardson).     [E.  A.  P.] 


MUSK   RAT   COUNTRY  77 

address  can  only  collect  furrs  sufficient  to  purchase  the 
necessaries  of  life ;  and  part  of  their  clothing  is  of  leather  in 
summer,  very  disagreeable  in  rainy  weather,  and  the  avidity 
with  which  the  furr  bearing  animals  is  sought,  almost 
threatens  their  extinction  ;  the  birds  of  passage  may  be  as 
numerous  as  ever,  comparatively  only  a  very  few  can  be 
killed  as  they  pass,  and  the  Natives  acknowledge,  that  with  all 
their  endeavours  they  can  barely  subsist  by  the  chase,  even 
when  making  use  of  all  the  animals  they  catch  for  food. 


CHAPTER    IV 

NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS 

Nahathaway  Language  —  A-ppearance  —  Dress  —  Manners  — 
Traditions — Immortality  of  the  Soul — Keeche  Keeche 
Manito — Manitos — Ghosts — Pah  kok — Sun  and  Moon — 
Names  of  Moons  of  each  month — Earth — Forest — Manitos — 
Metchee  Manito — Dog  Feasts — Weesarkejauk — The  story 
of  the  Deluge — Rainbow — The  conjurer  Ise-pesawan  dances 
— Poowaggan — Resentful  dispositions — Early  Marriages — 
Duties  of  Wife — Duties  of  Husband — Superstitions  of  hunter 
— Marriages — Polygamy — Children — Metis — Ingenuity  of 
Indians — Wishes — Sleds — Dogs — Moving  of  Indians — 
Arrangement  of  Tents. 

HAVING  passed  six  years  ^  in  different  parts  of  this 
Region,  exploring  and  surveying  it,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  know  something  of  the  natives,  as  well 
as  the  productions  of  the  country.  It's  inhabitants  are  two 
distinct  races  of  Indians ;  North  of  the  latitude  of  fifty  six 
degrees,  the  country  is  occupied  by  a  people  who  call  them- 
selves "  Dinnie,"  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Traders  "  Northern 
Indians  "  and  by  their  southern  neighbours  "  Cheepawyans  " 
whom  I  shall  notice  hereafter.  Southward  of  the  above 
latitude  the  country  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Nahathaway 

*  The  six  years  so  spent  were  as  follows,  the  first  four  being  with  the 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  the  last  two  with  the  North-West  Company  : 

1792-93,  at   Sipiwesk  lake;    1794-95,  at   Reed  lake;    1795-96,  at  Duck 

Portage;  1 796-97,  at  Reindeer  lake  ;  1804-05,  at  Musquawegan  ;  1805-06, 

at  Reed  lake. 

78 


NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  79 

Indians  ^  their  native  name  (Note.  These  people  by  the  French 
Canadians,  who  are  all  without  the  least  education,  in  their 
jargon  call  them  "  Krees  "  a  name  which  none  of  the  Indians 
can  pronounce ;  this  name  appears  to  be  taken  from 
"  Keethisteno  "  so  called  by  one  of  their  tribes  and  which 
the  french  pronounce  "  Kristeno,"  and  by  contraction  Krees 
(R,  rough,  cannot  be  pronounced  by  any  Native)  these 
people  are  separated  into  many  tribes  or  extended  families, 
under  different  names,  but  all  speaking  dialects  of  the  same 
language,  which  extends  over  this  stony  region,  and  along 
the  Atlantic  coasts  southward  to  the  Delaware  River  in  the 
United  States,  (the  language  of  the  Delaware  Indians  being 
a  dialect  of  the  parent  Nahathaway)  and  by  the  Saskatchewan 
River  westward,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Nathaway, 
as  it  is  spoken  by  the  southern  tribes  is  softened  and  made 
more  sonorous,  the  frequent  th  of  the  parent  tongue  is  changed 
to  the  letter  y  as  Neether  (me)  into  Neeyer,  Keether  (thou) 
into  Keeyer,  Weether  (him)  into  Weeyer,  and  as  it  proceeds 
southward  [it]  becomes  almost  a  different  language.  It  is 
easy  of  pronunciation,  and  is  readily  acquired  by  the  white 
people  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  common  conversation. 

The  appearance  of  these  people  depends  much  on  the 
climate  and  ease  of  subsistence.  Around  Hudson's  Bay  and 
near  the  sea  coasts,  where  the  climate  is  very  severe,   and 

^  Nahathaway  is  one  of  several  variants  of  the  name  applied  by  the 
Cree  Indians  to  themselves,  and  is  that  form  of  the  name  which  is  commonly 
used  by  the  Cree  who  live  in  the  country  around  Isle  k  la  Crosse  and  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Churchill  river.  Among  the  Cree  of  the  Saskatchewan 
river  and  the  Great  Plains  the  th  sound  is  eliminated  and  the  word  is  pro- 
nounced Nihlaway.  Kristeno,  the  name  by  which  this  great  tribe  was 
usually  known  to  the  early  traders,  and  of  which  the  word  Cree  is  a  cor- 
ruption, was  the  name  which  the  Chippewa  applied  to  them,  and  as  the 
white  people  came  in  contact  with,  and  learned  to  speak  the  language  of, 
the  Chippewa  first,  they  naturally  adopted  the  Chippewa  name.  The 
Cree  are  one  of  the  most  important  tribes  of  the  Algonquin  family. 
They  are  naturally  inhabitants  of  the  forest.  Their  range  was  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  eastward  north  of  the  Great  Plains,  and  thence  north 
of  Lake  Winnipeg  to  the  southern  shore  of  Hudson  Bay. 


80       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

game  scarce,  they  are  seldom  above  the  middle  size,  of  spare 
make,  the  features  round,  or  slightly  oval,  hair  black,  strong 
and  lank ;  eyes  black  and  of  full  size,  cheek  bones  rather 
high,  mouth  and  teeth  good,  the  chin  round  ;  the  counte- 
nance grave  yet  with  a  tendency  to  cheerful,  the  mild 
countenances  of  the  women  make  many,  while  young,  appear 
lovely  ;  but  like  the  labouring  classes  the  softness  of  youth 
soon  passes  away.  In  the  interior  where  the  cHmate  is  not 
so  severe,  and  hunting  more  successful,  the  Men  attain  to 
the  stature  of  six  feet ;  well  proportioned,  the  face  more 
oval,  and  the  features  good,  giving  them  a  manly  appearance ; 
the  complexion  is  of  a  light  olive,  and  their  colour  much  the 
same  as  a  native  of  the  south  of  Spain  ;  the  skin  soft  and 
smooth.  They  bear  cold  and  exposure  to  the  weather  better 
than  we  do  and  the  natural  heat  of  their  bodies  is  greater 
than  ours,  probably  from  Hving  wholly  on  animal  food.  They 
can  bear  great  fatigue  but  not  hard  labor,  they  would  rather 
walk  six  hours  over  rough  ground  than  work  one  hour  with 
the  pick  axe  and  spade,  and  the  labor  they  perform,  is  mostly 
in  an  erect  posture  as  working  with  the  ice  chissel  piercing 
holes  through  the  ice  or  through  a  beaver  house,  and  naturally 
they  are  not  industrious ;  they  do  not  work  from  choice, 
but  necessity ;  yet  the  industrious  of  both  sexes  are  praised 
and  admired ;  the  civiHzed  man  has  many  things  to  tempt 
him  to  an  active  Ufe,  the  Indian  has  none,  and  is  happy  sitting 
still,  and  smoking  his  pipe. 

The  dress  of  the  Men  is  simply  of  one  or  two  loose  coats 
of  coarse  broad  cloth,  or  molton,  a  piece  of  the  same  sewed 
to  form  a  rude  kind  of  stockings  to  half  way  up  the  thigh,  a 
blanket  by  way  of  a  cloak  ;  the  shoes  are  of  weU  dressed 
Moose,  or  Rein  Deer  skin,  and  from  it's  pliancy  enables  them 
to  run  with  safety,  they  have  no  covering  for  the  head  in 
summer,  except  the  skin  of  the  spotted  northern  Diver ;  but 
in  winter,  they  wrap  a  piece  of  Otter,  or  Beaver  skin  with  the 
furr  on,   round  their  heads,  still  leaving  the  crown  of  the 


NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  81 

head  bare,  from  which  they  suffer  no  inconvenience.  The 
dress  of  the  women  is  of  !•$■  yards  of  broad  cloth  sewed  Hke 
a  sack,  open  at  both  ends,  one  end  is  tied  over  the  shoulders, 
the  middle  belted  round  the  waist,  the  lower  part  like  a  petti- 
coat, covers  to  the  ankles,  and  gives  them  a  decent  appearance. 
The  sleeves  covers  the  arms  and  shoulders,  and  are  separate 
from  the  body  dress.  The  rest  is  much  the  same  as  the  men. 
For  a  head  dress  they  have  a  foot  of  broad  cloth  sewed  at  one 
end,  ornamented  with  beads  and  gartering,  this  end  is  on  the 
head,  the  loose  parts  are  over  the  shoulders,  and  is  well  adapted 
to  defend  the  head  and  neck  from  the  cold  and  snow.  The 
women  seldom  disfigure  their  faces  with  paint,  and  are  not 
over  fond  of  ornaments.  Most  of  the  men  are  tattoed,  on 
some  part  of  their  bodies,  arms  &c.  Some  of  the  Women 
have  a  small  circle  on  each  cheek. 

The  natives  in  their  manners  are  mild  and  decent,  treat 
each  other  with  kindness  and  respect,  and  very  rarely  interrupt 
each  other  in  conversation ;  after  a  long  separation  the 
nearest  relations  meet  each  other  with  the  same  seeming 
indifference,  as  if  they  had  constantly  lived  in  the  same  tent, 
but  they  have  not  the  less  affection  for  each  other,  for  they 
hold  aU  show  of  joy,  or  sorrow  to  be  unmanly ;  on  the  death 
of  a  relation,  or  friend,  the  women  accompany  their  tears  for 
the  dead  with  piercing  shrieks,  but  the  men  sorrow  in  silence, 
and  when  the  sad  pang  of  recollection  becomes  too  strong  to 
be  borne,  retire  into  the  forest  to  give  free  vent  to  their  grief. 
Those  acts  that  pass  between  man  and  man  for  generous 
charity  and  kind  compassion  in  civilized  society,  are  no  more 
than  what  is  every  day  practised  by  these  Savages ;  as  acts 
of  common  duty  ;  is  any  one  unsuccessful  in  the  chase,  has 
he  lost  his  Httle  all  by  some  accident,  he  is  sure  to  be  relieved 
by  the  others  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  in  sickness  they 
carefully  attend  each  other  to  the  latest  breath  decently  .  .  . 
the  dead  .  .  } 

^  The  bottom  of  the  page  of  manuscript  has  here  been  torn  off. 

F 


82        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Of  all  the  several  distinct  Tribes  of  Natives  on  the  east 
side  of  the  mountains,   the  Nahathaway   Indians   appear  to 
deserve  the  most  consideration ;    under  different  names  the 
great  families  of  this  race  occupy  a  great  extent  of  country, 
and  however  separated  and  unknown  to  each  other,  they  have 
the  same  opinions  on  rehgion,  on  morals,  and  their  customs 
and  manners  differ  very  Httle.     They  are  the  only  Natives 
that  have  some  remains  of  ancient  times  from  tradition.     In 
the  following  account  I  have  carefully  avoided  as  their  national 
opinions   all   they   have   learned   from   white   men,    and   my 
knowledge  was  collected  from  old  men,  whom  with  my  own 
age  extend  backwards  to  upwards  of  one  hundred  years  ago, 
and  I  must  remark,  that  what  [ever]  other  people  may  write 
as  the  creed  of  these  natives,   I  have  always  found  it  very 
difficult  to  learn  their  real  opinion  on  what  may  be  termed 
religious  subjects.     Asking  them  questions  on  this  head,  is  to 
no  purpose,  they  will  give  the  answer  best  adapted  to  avoid 
other  questions,  and  please  the  enquirer.     My  knowledge  has 
been  gained  when  living  and  travelling  with  them  and  in 
times   of   distress   and   danger   in   their   prayers    to   invisible 
powers,  and  their  view  of  a  future  state  of  themselves  and 
others,  and  hke  most  of  mankind,  those  in  youth  and  in  the 
prime  of  hfe  think  only  of  the  present  but  decHning  man- 
hood, and  escapes  from  danger  turn  their  thoughts  on  futurity. 
After  a  weary  day's  march  we  sat  by  a  log  fire,  the  bright 
Moon,  with  thousands  of  sparkhng  stars  passing  before  us,  we 
could  not  help  enquiring  who  lived  in  those  bright  mansions  ; 
for  I  frequently  conversed  with  them  as  one  of  themselves ; 
the  brilliancy  of  the  planets  always  attracted  their  attention, 
and  when  their  nature  was  explained  to  them,  they  concluded 
them  to  be  the  abodes  of  the  spirits  of  those  who  had  led  a 
good  life. 

A  Missionary  has  never  been  among  them,  and  my  know- 
ledge of  their  language  has  not  enabled  me  to  do  more  than 
teach  the  unity  of  God,  and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 


NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  83 

punishments ;  hell  fire  they  do  not  believe,  for  they  do  not 
think  it  possible  that  any  thing  can  resist  the  continued 
action  of  fire  :  It  is  doubtful  if  their  language  in  its  present 
simple  state  can  clearly  express  the  doctrines  of  Christianity 
in  their  full  force.  They  believe  in  the  self  existence  of  the 
Keeche  Keeche  Manito  (The  Great,  Great  Spirit)  they 
appear  to  derive  their  belief  from  tradition,  and  [believe]  that 
the  visible  world,  with  all  it's  inhabitants  must  have  been 
made  by  some  powerful  being  :  but  have  not  the  same  idea 
of  his  constant  omnipresence,  omniscience  and  omnipotence 
that  we  have,  but  [think]  that  he  is  so  when  he  pleases,  he  is 
the  master  of  h'fe,  and  all  things  are  at  his  disposal ;  he  is 
always  kind  to  the  human  race,  and  hates  to  see  the  blood 
of  mankind  on  the  ground,  and  sends  heavy  rain  to  wash  it 
away.  He  leaves  the  human  race  to  their  own  conduct,  but 
has  placed  all  other  living  creatures  under  the  care  of  Manitos 
(or  inferior  Angels)  all  of  whom  are  responsible  to  Him  ;  but 
all  this  beHef  is  obscure  and  confused,  especially  on  the 
Manitos,  the  guardians  and  guides  of  every  genus  of  Birds 
and  Beasts ;  each  Manito  has  a  separate  command  and  care, 
as  one  has  the  Bison,  another  the  Deer ;  and  thus  the  whole 
animal  creation  is  divided  amongst  them.  On  this  account 
the  Indians,  as  much  as  possible,  neither  say,  nor  do  anything 
to  offend  them,  and  the  rehgious  hunter,  at  the  death  of 
each  animal,  says,  or  does,  something,  as  thanks  to  the  Manito 
of  the  species  for  being  permitted  to  kill  it.  At  the  death 
of  a  Moose  Deer,  the  hunter  in  a  low  voice,  cries  "  wut,  wut, 
wut  "  ;  cuts  a  narrow  stripe  of  skin  from  off  the  throat,  and 
hangs  it  up  to  the  Manito.  The  bones  of  the  head  of  a  Bear 
are  thrown  into  the  water,  and  thus  of  other  animals ;  if 
this  acknowledgment  was  not  made  the  Manito  would  drive 
away  the  animals  from  the  hunter,  although  the  Indians 
often  doubt  their  power  or  existence  yet  like  other  invisible 
beings  they  are  more  feared  than  loved.  They  believe  in 
ghosts  but  as  very  rarely  seen,  and  those  only  of  wicked  men, 


84        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

or  women ;  when  this  belief  takes  place,  their  opinion  is,  that 
the  spirit  of  the  wicked  person  being  in  a  miserable  state 
comes  back  to  the  body  and  round  where  he  used  to  hunt ; 
to  get  rid  of  such  a  hateful  visitor,  they  burn  the  body  to 
ashes  and  the  ghost  then  no  longer  haunts  them.  The  dark 
Pine  Forests  have  spirits,  but  there  is  only  one  of  them  which 
they  dread,  it  is  the  Pah  kok,  a  tall  hateful  spirit,  he  frequents 
the  depths  of  the  Forest ;  his  howHngs  are  heard  in  the 
storm,  he  delights  to  add  to  its  terrors,  it  is  a  misfortune  to 
hear  him,  something  ill  wiU  happen  to  the  person,  but  when 
he  approaches  a  Tent  and  howls,  he  announces  the  death  of 
one  of  the  inmates ;  of  all  beings  he  is  the  most  hateful  and 
the  most  dreaded.  The  Sun  and  Moon  are  accounted 
Divinities  and  though  they  do  not  worship  them,  [they] 
always  speak  of  them  with  great  reverence.  They  appear  to 
think  [of]  the  Stars  only  as  a  great  number  of  luminous  points 
perhaps  also  divinities,  and  mention  them  with  respect ;  they 
have  names  for  the  brightest  stars,  as  Serius,  Orion  and 
others,  and  by  them  learn  the  change  of  the  seasons,  as  the 
rising  of  Orion  for  winter,  and  the  setting  of  the  Pleiades  for 
summer.  The  Earth  is  also  a  divinity,  and  is  aHve,  but 
[they]  cannot  define  what  kind  of  life  it  is,  but  say,  if  it  was 
not  aHve  it  could  not  give  and  continue  life  to  other  things 
and  to  animated  creatures. 

The  Forests,  the  ledges  and  hills  of  Rock,  the  Lakes  and 
Rivers  have  all  something  of  the  Manito  about  them,  especi- 
ally the  Falls  in  the  Rivers,  and  those  to  which  the  fish  come 
to  spawn.  The  Indians  when  the  season  is  over,  frequently 
place  their  spears  at  the  Manito  stone  at  the  Fall,  as  an 
offering  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Fall,  for  the  fish  they  have  caught. 
These  stones  are  rare,  and  sought  after  by  the  natives  to 
place  at  the  edge  of  a  water  fall ;  they  are  of  the  shape  of  a 
Cobler's  lap  stone,  but  much  larger,  and  pohshed  by  the  wash 
of  the  water.  The  "  Metchee  Manito,"  or  Evil  Spirit,  they 
believe  to  be  evil,  delighting  in  making  men  miserable,  and 


NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  83 

bringing  misfortune  and  sickness  on  them,  and  if  he  had  the 
power  would  wholly  destroy  them  ;  he  is  not  the  tempter, 
his  whole  power  is  for  mischief  to,  and  harrassing  of,  them,  to 
avert  all  which  they  use  many  ceremonies,  and  other  sacri- 
fices, which  consists  of  such  things  as  they  can  spare,  and 
sometimes  a  dog  is  painted  and  killed  ;  whatever  is  given  to 
him  is  laid  on  the  ground,  frequently  at  the  foot  of  a  pine 
tree.  They  believe  in  the  immortaHty  of  the  soul,  and  that 
death  is  only  a  change  of  existence  which  takes  place  directly 
after  death.  The  good  find  themselves  in  a  happy  country, 
where  they  rejoin  their  friends  and  relations,  the  Sun  is  always 
bright,  and  the  animals  plenty  ;  and  most  of  them  carry  this 
beHef  so  far,  that  they  beheve  whatever  creatures  the  great 
Spirit  has  made  must  continue  to  exist  somewhere,  and  under 
some  form  ;  But  this  fine  belief  is  dark  and  uncertain  ;  when 
danger  was  certain,  and  it  was  doubtful  if  we  saw  the  day, 
or  if  we  saw  it,  whether  we  should  live  through  it,  and  a  future 
state  appeared  close  to  them,  their  minds  wavered,  they 
wished  to  beheve  what  they  felt  to  be  uncertain,  all  that  I 
could  do  was  to  show  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  as  necessary 
to  the  reward  of  the  good  and  punishment  of  the  wicked  but 
all  this  was  the  talk  of  man  with  man.  It  wanted  the  sure 
and  sacred  promise  of  the  Heavenly  Redeemer  of  mankind, 
who  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light. 

There  is  an  important  being,  with  whom  the  Natives 
appear  better  acquainted  with  than  the  other,  whom  they 
call  "  Weesarkejauk "  (the  Flatterer)  he  is  the  hero  of  all 
their  stories  always  promising  them*  some  good,  or  inciting 
them  to  some  pleasure,  and  always  deceiving  them.  They 
have  some  tradition  of  the  Deluge,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
following  account  related  by  the  old  men.  After  the  Great 
Spirit  made  mankind,  and  all  the  animals,  he  told  Weesarke- 
jauk to  take  care  of  them  and  teach  them  how  to  Hve,  and  not 
to  eat  of  bad  roots  ;  that  would  hurt  and  kill  them  ;  but  he 
did  not  mind  the  Great  Spirit ;    became  careless  and  incited 


86        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

them  to  pleasure,  mankind  and  the  animals  all  did  as  they 
pleased,  quarelled  and  shed  much  blood,  with  which  the 
Great  Spirit  was  displeased ;  he  threatened  Weesarkejauk 
that  if  he  did  not  keep  the  ground  clean  he  would  take  every- 
thing from  him  and  make  him  miserable  but  he  did  not 
believe  the  Great  Spirit  and  in  a  short  time  became  more 
careless ;  and  the  quarrels  of  Men,  and  the  animals  made 
the  ground  red  with  blood,  and  so  far  from  taking  care  of 
them  he  incited  them  to  do  and  Hve  badly  ;  this  made  the 
Great  Spirit  very  angry  and  he  told  Weesarkejauk  that  he 
would  take  every  thing  from  him,  and  wash  the  ground 
clean  ;  but  still  he  did  not  believe  ;  until  the  Rivers  and 
Lakes  rose  very  high  and  over  flowed  the  ground  for  it  was 
always  raining  ;  and  the  Keeche  Gahme  (the  Sea)  came  on 
the  land,  and  every  man  and  animal  were  drowned,  except 
one  Otter,  one  Beaver  and  one  Musk  Rat.  Weesarkejauk 
tried  to  stop  the  sea,  but  it  was  too  strong  for  him,  and  he 
sat  on  the  water  crying  for  his  loss,  the  Otter,  the  Beaver 
and  the  Musk  Rat  rested  their  heads  on  one  of  his  thighs. 

^\^len  the  rain  ceased  and  the  sea  went  away,  he  took 
courage,  but  did  not  dare  to  speak  to  the  Great  Spirit.  After 
musing  a  long  time  upon  his  sad  condition  he  thought  if  he 
could  get  a  bit  of  the  old  ground  he  could  make  a  httle  island 
of  it,  for  he  has  the  power  of  extending,  but  not  creating  any- 
thing ;  and  as  he  had  not  the  power  of  diving  under  the 
water,  and  did  not  know  the  depth  to  the  old  ground  he  was 
at  a  loss  what  to  do.  Some  say  the  Great  Spirit  took  pity 
on  him,  and  gave  him  the  power  to  renovate  everything, 
provided  he  made  use  of  the  old  materials,  all  of  which  lay 
buried  under  the  water  to  an  unknown  depth.  In  this  sad 
state,  as  he  sat  floating  on  the  water  he  told  the  three  animals 
that  they  must  starve  unless  he  could  get  a  bit  of  the  old 
ground  from  under  the  water  of  which  he  would  make  a  fine 
Island  for  them,  then  addressing  himself  to  the  Otter,  and 
praising  him  for  his  courage,  strength  and  activity  and  pro- 


NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  87 

mising  him  plenty  of  fish  to  eat,  he  persuaded  the  Otter  to 
dive,  and  bring  up  a  bit  of  earth  ;  the  Otter  came  up  without 
having  reached  the  ground  :  hy  praises,  he  got  the  Otter  to 
make  two  more  attempts,  but  without  success,  and  [he]  was  so 
much  exhausted  he  could  do  no  more.  Weesarkejauk  called 
him  a  coward  of  a  weak  heart,  and  [said]  that  the  Beaver 
would  put  him  to  shame  :  then,  speaking  to  the  Beaver,  praised 
his  strength  and  wisdom  and  promised  to  make  him  a  good 
house  for  winter,  and  telling  him  to  dive  straight  down,  the 
Beaver  made  two  attempts  without  success,  and  came  up  so 
tired  that  Weesarkejauk  had  to  let  him  repose  a  long  time, 
then  promising  him  a  wife  if  he  brought  up  a  bit  of  earth, 
told  him  to  try  a  third  time ;  to  obtain  a  wife,  he  boldly 
went  down  and  staid  so  long,  that  he  came  up  almost  lifeless. 
Weesarkejauk  was  now  very  sad,  for  what  the  active  Otter 
and  strong  Beaver  could  not  do,  he  had  little  hopes  the  Musk 
Rat  could  do  ;  but  this  was  his  only  resource  :  He  now  praised 
the  musk  rat  and  promised  him  plenty  of  roots  to  eat,  with 
rushes  and  earth  to  make  himself  a  house  ;  the  Otter  and  the 
Beaver  he  said  were  fools,  and  lost  themselves,  and  he  would 
find  the  ground,  if  he  went  straight  down.  Thus  encouraged 
he  dived,  and  came  up,  but  brought  nothing  ;  after  reposing, 
he  went  down  a  second  time,  and  staid  a  long  time,  on  coming 
up  Weesarkejauk  examined  his  fore  paws  and  found  they  had 
the  smell  of  earth,  and  showing  this  to  the  Musk  Rat,  promised 
to  make  him  a  Wife,  who  should  give  him  a  great  many 
children,  and  become  more  numerous  than  any  other  animal, 
and  teUing  him  to  have  a  strong  heart ;  and  go  direct  down, 
the  Musk  Rat  went  down  the  third  time  and  staid  so  long 
that  Weesarkejauk  feared  he  was  drowned.  At  length  seeing 
some  bubbles  come  up,  he  put  down  his  long  arm  and  brought 
up  the  Musk  Rat,  almost  dead,  but  to  his  great  joy  with  a 
piece  of  earth  between  his  fore  paws  and  his  breast,  this  he 
seized,  and  in  a  short  time  extended  it  to  a  Httle  island,  on 
which  they  all  reposed.     Some  say  Weesarkejauk  procured  a 


88        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

bit  of  wood,  from  which  he  made  the  Trees,  and  from  bones, 
he  made  the  animals  ;  but  the  greater  number  deny  this, 
and  say,  the  Great  Spirit  made  the  rivers  take  the  water  to 
the  Keeche  gahma  of  bad  water  (the  salt  sea)  and  then 
renovated  Mankind,  the  Animals,  and  the  Trees ;  in  proof 
of  which,  the  Great  Spirit  deprived  him  of  all  authority  over 
Mankind  and  the  animals,  and  he  has  since  had  only  the 
power  to  flatter  and  deceive.  It  has  been  aheady  noticed 
that  this  visionary  being  is  the  hero  of  many  stories,  which 
the  women  relate  to  amuse  away  the  evenings.  They  are  all 
founded  upon  the  tricks  he  plays  upon,  and  the  mischief  he 
leads  the  animals  into,  by  flattering  and  deceiving  them, 
especially  the  Wolf  and  the  Fox.  But  the  recital  of  the  best 
of  these  stories  would  be  tameness  itself  to  the  splendid 
Language  and  gorgeous  scenery  of  the  tales  of  the  oriental 
nations. 

The  Nahathaway  Indians  have  also  another  tradition 
relative  to  the  Deluge  to  which  no  fable  is  attached.  In  the 
latter  end  of  May  1806,  at  the  Rocky  Mountain  House,^ 
(where  I  passed  the  summer)  the  Rain  continued  the  very 
unusual  space  of  full  three  weeks,  the  Brooks  and  the  River 
became  swollen,  and  could  not  be  forded,  each  stream  became 
a  torrent,  and  [there  was]  much  water  on  the  ground  :  A 
band  of  these  Indians  were  at  the  house,  waiting  [for]  the 
Rain  to  cease  and  the  streams  to  lower,  before  they  could 
proceed  to  hunting  ;  all  was  anxiety,  they  smoked  and  made 
speaches  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  the  Rain  to  cease,  and  at 
length   became   alarmed    at    the   quantity   of   water   on    the 

*  The  Rocky  Mountain  House  here  referred  to  was  situated  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  North  Saskatchewan  river,  in  latitude  52°  21'  30"  N., 
longitude  114°  57'  W.,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  above  the  mouth  of  Clear- 
water river,  on  a  beautiful  level  prairie  in  a  wide  bend  of  the  river.  It 
was  built  by  the  North-Westers  in  the  autumn  of  1799  ;  and  it  was 
Thompson's  home  during  the  winters  of  1800-01,  1801-02,  1806-07.  The 
trading  post  which  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  afterwards  built  near  it 
was  called  Acton  House. 


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NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  89 

ground ;  at  length  the  rain  ceased,  I  was  standing  at  the 
door  watching  the  breaking  up  of  the  clouds,  when  of  a  sudden 
the  Indians  gave  a  loud  shout,  and  called  out  "  Oh,  there  is 
the  mark  of  life,  we  shall  yet  Hve."  On  looking  to  the  east- 
ward there  was  one  of  the  widest  and  most  splendid  Rainbows 
I  ever  beheld  ;  and  joy  was  now  in  every  face.  The  name 
of  the  Rainbow  is  Peeshim  Cappeah  (Sun  Hnes).  I  had  now 
been  twenty  two  years  among  them,  and  never  before  heard 
the  name  of  the  Mark  of  Life  given  to  the  rainbow  (Peemah 
tisoo  nan  oo  Chegun)  nor  have  I  ever  heard  it  since ;  upon 
enquiring  of  the  old  Men  why  they  kept  this  name  secret 
from  me,  they  gave  me  the  usual  reply,  You  white  men  always 
laugh  and  treat  with  contempt  what  we  have  heard  and 
learned  from  our  fathers,  and  why  should  we  expose  our- 
selves to  be  laughed  at ;  I  replied  I  have  never  done  so,  our 
books  also  call  the  Rainbow  the  mark  of  life ;  what  the  white 
sometimes  despise  you  for,  is  your  one  day,  making  prayers 
to  the  Good  Spirit  for  all  you  want ;  and  another  shutting 
yourselves  up,  making  speeches  with  ceremonies  and  offer- 
ings to  the  Evil  Spirit ;  it  is  for  the  worship  of  the  Evil  Spirit 
that  we  despise  you,  you  fear  him  because  he  is  wicked,  and 
the  more  you  worship  him,  the  more  power  he  will  have  over 
you  ;  worship  the  Good  Spirit  only  and  the  bad  spirit  will 
have  no  power  over  you.  Ah,  said  they  ;  he  is  strong,  we 
fear  for  ourselves,  our  wives  and  our  children.  Christianity 
alone  can  eradicate  these  sad  superstitions,  and  who  will 
teach  them.  Where  the  Natives  are  in  villages,  or  even 
where  they  occasionally  assemble  together  for  two,  or  three 
months ;  a  Missionary  may  do  some  good,  but  the  Natives 
who  in  a  hard  country  live  by  hunting,  scattered  by  three,  or 
four  famihes  over  a  wide  extent  of  forest,  are  beyond  the  labors 
of  a  Missionary  ;  yet  the  influence  of  the  white  people  have 
done  much  to  lessen  the  worship  and  offerings  to  the  Evil 
Spirit.  From  the  french  Canadians  they  cannot  add  to  their 
moraHty,  and  the  dreadful  oaths  and  curses  they  make  use  of. 


90       DAV^D   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

shocks  an  Indian.  The  Indian,  altho'  naturally  grave  is  fond 
of  cheerful  amusements,  and  listening  to  stories,  especially  of 
a  wonderful  cast ;  and  [is]  fond  of  news,  which  he  listens  to 
with  attention,  and  his  common  discourse  is  easy  and  cheerful. 
Like  the  rest  of  mankind,  he  is  anxious  to  know  something 
of  futurity,  and  [where]  he  shall  take  up  his  wintering  ground. 
For  to  acquire  this  important  knowledge,  they  have  re- 
course to  Dreams  and  other  superstitions ;  and  a  few  of  their 
best  conjurers  sometimes  take  a  bold  method  of  imposing 
upon  themselves  and  others.  One  of  my  best  acquaintances, 
named  "  Isepesawan,"  was  the  most  relied  on  by  the  Natives, 
to  inquire  into  futurity  by  conjuring  ;  he  was  a  good  hunter, 
fluent  in  speech,  had  a  fine  manly  voice ;  and  very  early 
every  morning  took  his  rattle,  and  beating  time  with  it,  made 
a  fluent  speech  of  about  twenty  minutes  to  the  Great  Spirit 
and  the  Spirits  of  the  forests,  for  health  to  all  of  them  and 
success  in  hunting,  and  to  give  to  his  Poowoggin  where  to 
find  the  Deer,  and  to  be  always  kind  to  them,  and  to  give 
them  straight  Dreams,  that  they  may  Hve  straight.  The 
time  chosen  was  a  fine  afternoon,  in  the  open  season ; 
"  Isepesawan "  was  the  actor.  After  taking  the  sweating 
bath  ;  he  had  four  long  slender  poles  brought  of  about  sixteen 
feet  in  length  ;  these  were  fixed  in  the  ground  to  form  a 
square  of  full  three  feet  :  At  five  feet  above  the  ground  four 
cross  pieces  were  tied  firmly  ;  and  about  fuU  three  feet  above 
these,  other  four  pieces  were  strongly  tied  across  the  upright 
poles ;  all  this,  at  the  bottom  and  top,  with  the  sides  were 
closely  covered  with  the  dressed  leather  skins  of  Deer  ;  leaving 
one  side  loose  for  a  door.  This  being  done,  fine  sinew  Hne 
was  brought  ;  with  this,  the  thumb  was  tied  to  the  fore  finger 
in  two  places,  the  fingers  to  each  other  in  the  same  manner  ; 
both  hands  being  then  tied  they  were  brought  together  palm 
to  palm  and  tied  together  at  the  wrist  ;  then  the  arms  tied 
close  above  the  elbows.  The  Legs  were  tied  together  close 
above  the  ancles,  and  above  the  knees  ;    sometimes  the  toes 


NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  91 

are  tied  together  in  the  same  manner  as  the  hands ;  a  few 
yards  of  leather  Hne  is  tied  round  his  body  and  arms  ;  a  strong 
line  is  passed  under  the  knees,  and  round  the  back  of  the  neck, 
which  draws  the  knees  to  a  sitting  posture.  A  large  Moose 
leather  skin,  or  a  Bison  Robe,  is  wrapped  around  him,  and 
several  yards  of  leather  line  bind  the  Robe  or  leather  skin 
close  around  him  ;  in  this  helpless  state  two  men  Hft  and 
place  him  in  the  conjuring  box  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  his 
rattle  on  his  right  side  All  is  now  suspense,  the  Men, 
Women,  and  Children  keep  strict  silence  ;  In  about  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes  ;  the  whole  of  the  cords,  wrapped  to- 
gether are  thrown  out,  and  instantly  the  Rattle  and  the  Song 
are  heard,  the  conjuring  box  violently  shaken,  as  if  the  con- 
jurer was  actually  possessed  ;  sometimes  the  Song  ceases,  and 
a  speech  is  heard  of  ambiguous  predictions  of  what  is  to 
happen.  In  half  an  hours  time,  he  appears  exhausted,  leaves 
the  leather  box  and  retires  to  his  tent,  the  perspiration 
running  down  him,  smokes  his  pipe,  and  goes  to  sleep. 

The  above  is  acted  on  a  piece  of  clear  ground  ;  I  some- 
times thought  there  must  be  some  collusion,  and  the  apparent 
fast  knots,  were  really  slip  knots ;  but  the  more  I  became 
convinced  the  whole  was  a  neat  piece  of  jugglery.  On  one 
of  these  occasions,  five  Scotchmen  were  with  me  on  some 
business  we  had  with  the  Natives ;  we  found  the  above  Indian 
preparing  his  conjuring  box  :  of  course  our  business  could 
not  be  done  till  this  was  over.  When  my  men  perceived  the 
conjurer  about  being  tied,  they  said,  if  they  had  the  tying  of 
him,  he  would  never  get  loose,  this  I  told  to  the  Indians, 
who  readily  agreed  the  Scotchmen  should  tie  him  :  which 
they  did  in  the  usual  way,  and  placed  him  in  the  conjuring 
box  ;  quite  sure  he  could  not  get  loose  :  In  about  fifteen 
minutes,  to  their  utter  astonishment,  all  the  cords  were 
thrown  out  in  a  bundle,  the  Rattle,  and  the  Song  [was  heard] 
in  full  force,  and  the  conjuring  box  shaken,  as  if  going  to 
pieces  ;    my  men  were  at  a  loss  what  to  think,  or  say.     the 


— 


92        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Natives  smiled  at  their  incredulity ;  at  length  they  consoled 
themselves  by  saying,  the  Devil  himself  had  untied  him,  and 
set  him  loose. 

I  found  many  of  the  Men,  especially  those  who  had  been 
much  in  company  with  white  men,  to  be  all  half  infidels, 
but  the  Women  kept  them  in  order ;  for  they  fear  the 
Manito's ;  All  their  dances  have  a  religious  tendency,  they 
are  not,  as  with  us,  dances  of  mere  pleasure,  of  the  joyous 
countenance :  they  are  grave,  each  dancer  considers  it  is  a 
religious  rite  for  some  purpose ;  their  motions  are  slow  and 
graceful ;  yet  I  have  sometimes  seen  occasional  dances  of  a 
gay  character ;  I  was  at  their  Tents  on  business,  when  the 
Women  came  and  told  me  they  wanted  Beads  and  Ribbons, 
to  which  I  replied  I  wanted  Marten  Skins ;  early  the  next 
morning,  five  young  women  set  off  to  make  Marten  Traps ; 
and  did  not  return  until  the  evening.  They  were  rallyed  by 
their  husbands  and  brothers ;  who  proposed  they  should 
dance  to  the  Manito  of  the  Martens,  to  this  they  wiUingly 
consented,  it  was  a  fine,  calm,  moonhght  night,  the  young 
men  came  with  the  Rattle  and  Tambour,  about  nine  women 
formed  the  dance,  to  which  they  sung  with  their  fine  voices, 
and  lively  they  danced  hand  in  hand  in  a  half  circle  for  a 
long  hour  ;  it  is  now  many  years  ago,  yet  I  remember  this 
gay  hour. 

Every  man  believes  or  wishes  to  believe  that  he  has  a 
familiar  being  who  takes  care  of  him,  and  warns  him  of  danger, 
and  other  matters  which  otherwise  he  could  not  know  ;  this 
imaginary  being  he  calls  his  Poowoggan  ;  upon  conversing 
with  them  on  the  Being  on  whom  they  relied  ;  it  appeared 
to  me  to  be  no  other  than  the  powers  of  his  own  mind  when 
somewhat  excited  by  danger  or  difficulty,  especially  as  they 
suppose  their  dreams  to  be  caused  by  him,  "  Ne  poo  war  tin  " 
(I  have  dreamed)  ;  too  often  a  troubled  dream  from  a  heavy 
supper  ;  but  at  times  they  know  how  to  dream  for  their  own 
interest  or  convenience ;    and  when  one  of  them  told  me  he 


NAHATHAWAY   INDIANS  93 

had  been  dreaming  it  was  for  what  he  wished  to  have,  or  to 
do,  for  some  favor,  or  as  some  excuse  for  not  performing  his 
promises,  for  so  far  as  their  interests  are  concerned  they  do 
not  want  poHcy. 

When  injured  they  are  resentful,  but  not  more  than  the 
lower  classes  of  europeans.  They  frequently  pass  over  injuries, 
and  are  always  appeased  with  a  present,  unless  blood  has  been 
shed,  in  this  case  however  they  may  seem  to  forgive,  they 
defer  revenge  to  a  more  convenient  opportunity  ;  courage  is 
not  accounted  an  essential  to  the  men,  any  more  than  chastity 
to  the  women,  though  both  are  sometimes  found  in  a  high 
degree.  The  greatest  praise  that  one  Indian  can  give  to 
another,  is,  that  he  is  a  man  of  steady  humane  disposition, 
and  a  fortunate  hunter,  and  the  praise  of  the  women  is  to  be 
active  and  good  humoured ;  their  marriages  are  without 
noise  or  ceremony.  Nothing  is  requisite  but  the  consent  of 
the  parties,  and  Parents  :  the  riches  of  a  man  consists  solely 
in  his  ability  as  a  Hunter,  and  the  portion  of  the  woman  is 
good  health,  and  a  wiUingness  to  reheve  her  husband  from 
all  domestic  duties.  Although  the  young  men  appear  not  to 
be  passionate  lovers,  they  seldom  fail  of  being  good  husbands, 
and  when  contrariety  of  disposition  prevails,  so  that  they 
cannot  Hve  peaceably  together,  they  separate  with  as  little 
ceremony  as  they  came  together,  and  both  parties  are  free  to 
attach  themselves  to  whom  they  will,  without  any  stain  on 
their  characters  ;  but  if  they  have  Hved  so  long  together  so 
as  to  have  children,  one,  or  both,  are  severely  blamed.  Poly- 
gamy is  allowed,  and  each  may  have  as  many  wives  as  he  can 
maintain,  but  few  indulge  themselves  in  this  liberty,  yet 
some  have  even  three  ;  this  is  seldom  a  matter  of  choice,  it  is 
frequently  from  the  death  of  a  friend  who  has  left  his  wife, 
sister,  or  daughter  to  him,  for  every  woman  must  have  a 
husband.  The  children  are  brought  up  with  great  care  and 
tenderness.  They  are  very  seldom  corrected,  the  constant 
company   and   admonition   of   the   old   people   is   their   only 


94        DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

education,  whom  they  soon  learn  to  imitate  in  gravity  as  far 
as  youth  will  permit ;  they  very  early  and  readily  betake 
themselves  to  fishing  and  hunting,  from  both  men  and  women 
impressing  on  their  minds,  that  the  man  truly  miserable  is 
he,  who  is  dependent  on  another  for  his  subsistence.  They 
have  no  genius  for  mechanics,  their  domestic  utensils  are  all 
rude,  their  snow  shoes  and  canoes  show  ingenuity  which 
necessity  has  forced  on  them,  the  state  of  every  thing  with 
them  rises  no  higher  than  absolute  necessity,  and  in  all  pro- 
bability their  ancestors  some  hundred  years  ago,  were  equal 
to  the  present  generation  in  the  arts  of  life. 


CHAPTER    V 

DEER 

Hunting — Moose — Rein  Deer — Hedges  for  trapping  Rein  Deer 
— Vast  herds  of  Rein  Deer — Mahthee  Mooswah. 

THE  Natives  of  this  Stoney  Region  subsist  wholly  by 
the  chase  and  by  fishing,  the  country  produces  no 
vegetables  but  berries  on  which  they  can  live.  The 
term  "  hunting  "  they  apply  only  to  the  Moose  and  Rein 
Deer,  and  the  Bear ;  they  look  for,  and  find  the  Beaver,  they 
kill  with  the  Gun,  and  by  traps  the  Otter  and  other  animals. 
Hunting  is  divided  into  what  may  be  termed  "  tracking  " 
and  "  tracing."  Tracking  an  animal  is  by  following  it's  foot- 
steps, as  the  Rein  Deer  and  the  Bear  and  other  beasts  ; 
tracing,  is  following  the  marks  of  feeding,  rubbing  itself  on 
the  ground,  and  against  trees,  and  lying  down  :  which  is  for 
the  Moose  Deer,  and  for  other  animals  on  rocks  and  hard 
grounds.  My  remarks  are  from  the  Natives  who  are  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  them,  and  make  them  their  peculiar 
study.  The  first  in  order  is  the  Moose  Deer,^  the  pride  of 
the  forest,  and  the  largest  of  all  the  Deer,  [it]  is  too  well 
known  to  need  a  description.  It  is  not  numerous  in  proportion 
to  the  extent  of  country,  but  may  even  be  said  to  be  scarce. 
It  is  of  a  most  watchful  nature ;  it's  long,  large,  capacious 
ears  enables  it  to  catch  and  discriminate,  every  sound  ;  his 
sagacity  for  self  preservation  is  almost  incredible  ;  it  feeds  in 
wide  circles,  one  within  the  other,  and  then  lies  down  to 
ruminate  near   the  centre ;    so  that   in   tracking   of  it,   the 

^  Alces  americanus  (Clinton).     [E.  A.  P.] 
95 


96       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

unwary,  or  unskillful,  hunter  is  sure  to  come  to  windward  of, 
and  start  it ;  when,  in  about  two  hours,  by  his  long  trot, 
he  is  at  the  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  miles,  from  where  it 
started  ;  when  chased  it  can  trot,  (it's  favorite  pace)  about 
twenty  five  to  thirty  miles  an  hour  ;  and  when  forced  to  a 
gallop,  rather  loses,  than  gains  ground.  In  calm  weather  it 
feeds  among  the  Pines,  Aspins  and  WiUows  ;  the  buds,  and 
tender  branches  of  the  two  latter  are  it's  food  :  but  in  a  gale 
of  wind  he  retires  among  the  close  growth  of  Aspins,  Alders 
and  Willows  on  low  ground  still  observing  the  same  circular 
manner  of  feeding  and  lying  down.  If  not  molested  it  travels 
no  farther  than  to  find  it's  food,  and  is  strongly  attached  to 
it's  first  haunts,  and  after  being  harrassed  it  frequently  re- 
turns to  it's  usual  feeding  places.  The  flesh  of  a  Moose  in 
good  condition,  contains  more  nourishment  than  that  of  any 
other  Deer  ;  five  pounds  of  this  meat  being  held  to  be  equal 
in  nourishment  to  seven  pounds  of  any  other  meat  even  of 
the  Bison,  but  for  this,  it  must  be  killed  where  it  is  quietly 
feeding  ;  when  run  by  Men,  Dogs,  or  Wolves  for  any  dis- 
tance, it's  fiesh  is  alltogether  changed,  becomes  weak  and 
watery  and  when  boiled  ;  the  juices  separates  from  the  meat 
like  small  globules  of  blood,  and  does  not  make  broth  ;  the 
change  is  so  great,  one  can  hardly  be  persuaded  it  is  the  meat 
of  a  Moose  Deer.  The  nose  of  the  Moose,  which  is  very  large 
and  soft,  is  accounted  a  great  delicacy.  It  is  very  rich  meat. 
The  bones  of  it's  legs  are  very  hard  and  several  things  are  made 
of  them.  His  skin  makes  the  best  of  leather.  It  is  the  noblest 
animal  of  the  Forest,  and  the  richest  prize  the  Hunter  can 
take.  In  the  rutting  season  the  Bucks  become  very  fierce, 
and  in  their  encounters  sometimes  interlock  their  large  pal- 
mated  horns  so  strongly  that  they  cannot  extricate  them, 
and  both  die  on  the  spot,  and  [this  is  a  thing]  which  happens 
too  often  :  three  of  us  tried  to  unlock  the  horns  of  two  Moose 
which  had  died  in  this  manner,  but  could  not  do  it,  although 
they  had  been  a  year  in  this  state,  and  we  had  to  use  the  axe. 


DEER  97 

In  the  latter  end  of  September  [1804]  we  had  to  build  a  trading 
house  at  Musquawegun  Lake/  an  Indian  named  Huggemowe- 
quan  came  to  hunt  for  us,  and  on  looking  about  thought  the 
ground  good  for  Moose,  and  told  us  to  make  no  noise  ;  he  was 
told  no  noise  would  be  made  except  the  falling  of  the  trees, 
this  he  said  the  Moose  did  not  mind  ;  when  he  returned,  he 
told  us  he  had  seen  the  place  a  Doe  Moose  had  been  feeding 
in  the  beginning  of  May  ;  in  two  days  more  he  had  unravelled 
her  feeding  places  to  the  beginning  of  September.  One 
evening  he  remarked  to  us,  that  he  had  been  so  near  to  her 
that  he  could  proceed  no  nearer,  unless  it  blew  a  gale  of  wind, 
when  this  took  place  he  set  off  early,  and  shot  the  Moose 
Deer.     This  took  place  in  the  very  early  part  of  October. 

This  piece  of  hunting  the  Indians  regarded  as  the  work  of 
a  matchless  hunter  beyond  all  praise.  The  Natives  are  very 
dextrous  in  cutting  up,  and  separating  the  joints,  of  a  Deer, 
which  in  the  open  season  has  to  be  carried  by  them  to  the 
tent,  or  if  near  the  water,  to  a  canoe  ;  this  is  heavy  work  ; 
but  if  the  distance  is  too  great,  the  meat  is  split  and  dried 
by  smoke,  in  which  no  resinous  wood  must  be  used  ;  this 
reduces  the  meat  to  less  than  one  third  of  its  weight.  In 
winter  this  is  not  required,  as  the  flat  sleds  are  brought  to 
the  Deer,  and  the  meat  with  all  that  is  useful  is  hauled  on 
the  Snow  to  the  tent.  The  Moose  Deer,  have  rarely  more 
than  one  Fawn  at  a  birth,  it's  numbers  are  decreasing  for, 
from  it's  settled  habits  a  skillful  hunter  is  sure  to  find,  and 
wound,  or  kill  this  Deer,  and  it  is  much  sought  for,  for  food, 
for  clothing  and  for  Tents.  The  bones  of  the  head  of  a  Moose 
must  be  put  into  the  water  or  covered  with  earth  or  snow. 

I  have  already  described  the  Stony  Region  as  extending 
from  the  most  northern  part  of  this  continent,  bounded,  on 
the  east  by  the  sea,  southward  to  Labrador  and  Nova  Scotia, 
on  the  west  by  the  chain  of  great  Lakes  :    this  great  extent 

1  Musquawegan  (which  means  Bear's  Backbone)  was  situated  on  the 
Churchill  river.     Thompson  spent  here  the  winter  of  1804-05. 

G 


98       DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

may  properly  be  called  the  country  of  the  Rein  Deer,  an 
animal  too  well  known  to  need  description  ;  and  this  Region 
is  peculiar  to  the  Rein  Deer,  on  this  continent  it  is  found  no 
where  else.  The  Natives  have  well  named  it  "  Marthee 
Teek  "  the  "  ugly  deer,"  and  from  its  migratory  habits,  the 
Wandering  Deer.^  It's  form  and  way  of  Hfe,  though  admir- 
ably adapted  to  the  rude  countries  and  severe  cHmates  it 
inhabits,  yet  when  compared  with  the  graceful  Antelope,  it 
may  be  called  not  handsome.  Their  sight  appears  not  good, 
and  the  eye  dull,  and  has  nothing  of  the  brilliancy  of  the 
eyes  of  other  deer.  When  examining  anything  that  appears 
doubtful,  it  extends  it's  neck  and  head  in  an  awkward  manner, 
and  cautiously  approaches  until  it  is  sure  what  the  object  is. 
It's  large,  broad,  hard,  hoofs  make  it  very  sure  footed,  and 
quite  safe,  and  swift  on  swamps,  rocks,  or  smooth  ice.  It's 
meat  is  good,  but  has  something  of  a  peculiar  taste ;  the  fat 

*  The  Reindeer  here  referred  to  belong  to  a  form  of  caribou  provision- 
ally described  by  Richardson  under  the  name  Cervus   tarandus  var.  B. 
sylvesiris.     These  caribou  spend  the  winter  chiefly  in  the  region  now  under 
consideration  and  migrate  in  spring  eastward  to  the  shore  of  Hudson  Bay, 
about  150  miles  south-east  of  York  Factory,  and  return  in  autumn.     In 
former  years  these  animals  were  very  numerous,  but  they  have  been  sub- 
jected to  such  slaughter  during  their  semi-annual  migrations  that  their 
numbers  are  now  much  reduced,  though  they  are  still  sometimes  found  in 
good-sized  herds.     Richardson's  name  has  been  revived  recently  on  the 
basis  of  specimens  examined  from  Upper  Nelson  river,  and  east  of  Lake 
Winnipeg    (see   Hollister,  Smithsonian   Misc.   Coll.,  vol.  56,  no.  5,  p.   4, 
1 91 2).     These  specimens  are  of  the  Woodland  Caribou  type,  and  when 
compared  with  specimens  from  eastern  Canada  show  differences  of  sub- 
specific  rank.     Their  identity  with  the  animals  referred  to  by  Richardson 
is  still  open  to  some  question,  as  specimens  actually  from  the  Hayes  river 
herds  were  not  available  for  comparison.     The  inhabitants  of  the  region 
consider  the  animals  which  cross  Hayes  river  to  be  identical  with  the 
Barren  Ground  Caribou,  Rangifer  arcticus  (Richardson).    Mr.  J.  B.  Tyrrell 
informs  me  that  they  are  similar  to  the  latter  species  in  size,  and  not 
noticeably  different  in  any  way  when  observed  at  a  little  distance,  but 
that  they  are  certainly  different  from  the   larger  Woodland  Caribou   of 
the  same  general  region.     It  is  important  therefore  that  a  series  of  speci- 
mens be  secured  which  will  permit  comparison  of  this  form  both  with  the 
Barren  Ground  species  and  with  the  larger  Woodland  Caribou.     [E.  A.  P.] 


DEER  99 

is  somewhat  like  that  of  mutton  ;  the  Tongue  in  richness 
and  delicacy  far  exceeds  any  other  deer,  and  is  even  superior 
to  the  tongue  of  the  Bison.  It's  strong  form  and  broad  hoofs 
enables  it  to  swim  with  ease  and  swiftness ;  they  boldly  cross 
the  largest  Rivers  and  even  Bays  and  Straits  of  the  sea  ;  but 
in  doing  this,  their  want  of  clear  eye  sight  leads  them  too  far 
from  land,  and  [they]  are  lost.  When  few  in  number,  and 
scattered,  they  are  cautious  and  timid  ;  but  when  in  large 
herds,  quite  the  reverse  and  are  ready  to  trample  down  all 
before  them. 

At  York  Factory,  in  the  early  part  of  the  open  season, 
the  Rein  Deer  are  sometimes  numerous ;  when  they  are  so, 
commencing  about  four  miles  above  the  Factory,  strong 
hedges  of  small  pine  trees,  clear  of  their  branches,  are  made, 
near  to,  and  running  parallel  with,  the  bank  of  the  River ; 
at  intervals  of  about  fifteen  yards  door  ways  are  made  in  which 
is  placed  a  snare  of  strong  Hne,  in  which,  the  Deer  in  attempt- 
ing to  pass,  entangles  itself  ;  when  thus  caught,  it  is  sometimes 
strangled,  but  more  frequently  found  alive  ;  and  ready  to 
defend  itself ;  the  men,  who  every  morning  visit  the  hedge, 
are  each  armed  with  a  spear  of  ten  to  twelve  feet ;  and  must 
take  care  that  the  deer  is  at  the  length  of  his  line  and  care- 
fully avoid  the  stroke  of  his  fore  feet,  with  which  he  is  very 
active,  and  defends  itself.  The  meat  at  this  season  is 
always  poor  and  what  is  salted  is  barely  eatable  ;  it  is  only 
in  Autumn  and  the  early  part  of  winter  that  they  are  in  good 
condition. 

In  the  latter  end  of  the  month  of  May  1792,  the  ice  had 
broken  up.  M"  Cooke  ^  and  myself  in  a  canoe  proceeded 
about  twenty  miles  up  the  River  to  shoot  the  Rein  Deer,  as 

^  William  Cook  was  a  native  of  London,  England,  and  was  engaged 
in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  a  number  of  years  at  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In 
1 799-1 800  he  was  rated  as  a  trader  with  a  salary  of  £to  a  year,  and  in 
1801-02  his  salary  was  ;^8o  a  year.  He  was  engaged  chiefly  at  York  Factory 
and  up  the  Nelson  river. 


100      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

they  crossed  the  River ;  we  passed  two  days,  in  which  time 
we  had  killed  ten  deer.  On  the  third  morning  the  weather 
cold  and  uncomfortable,  we  were  sitting  by  our  fire,  when  we 
heard  a  noise  as  of  distant  thunder,  and  somewhat  alarmed, 
put  our  four  guns,  and  blankets  into  the  canoe,  and  sat 
quietly  in  it ;  waiting  what  it  could  be  ;  with  surprise  we 
heard  the  sound  increasing  and  rushing  towards  us,  but  we 
were  not  long  in  suspense.  About  forty  yards  below  us,  a 
vast  herd  of  Rein  Deer,  of  about  one  hundred  yards  of  front, 
rushing  through  the  woods,  headlong  descended  the  steep 
bank  and  swam  across  the  river  ;  in  the  same  manner  ascended 
the  opposite  bank,  and  continued  fuU  speed  through  the 
woods ;  we  waited  to  see  this  vast  herd  pass,  expecting  to 
see  it  followed  by  a  number  of  wolves ;  but  not  one  appeared, 
and  in  this  manner  the  herd  continued  to  pass  the  whole 
day  to  near  sunset,  when  a  cessation  took  place.  On  each 
hand  were  small  herds  of  ten  to  twenty  deer,  all  rushing 
forward  with  the  same  speed.  The  great  herd  were  so 
closely  packed  together  that  not  one  more,  if  dropped  among 
them,  could  find  a  place.  The  next  day,  a  while  after  sun 
rise,  the  same  sound  and  rushing  noise  was  heard,  and  a  deer 
herd  of  the  same  front,  with  the  same  headlong  haste  came 
down  the  bank  and  crossed  the  river,  and  continued  to  about 
two  in  the  afternoon,  attended  by  small  herds  on  either  side, 
after  which  small  herds  passed,  but  not  with  the  same  speed, 
and  by  sun  set  finally  ceased.  When  we  returned  to  the 
Factory  and  related  what  we  had  seen,  they  could  hardly 
believe  us,  and  had  we  not  by  chance  been  up  the  river, 
nothing  would  have  been  known  of  the  passage  of  this  great 
herd  :  for  the  weather,  for  a  long  fortnight  after  the  breaking 
up  of  the  ice  is  very  precarious  and  uncomfor[t]able.  Some 
time  after,  conversing  with  some  of  the  Natives  on  this  herd 
of  Rein  Deer  they  said  that  large  herds  do  sometimes  pass  in 
the  spring,  they  [had]  often  seen  their  roads,  but  had  seldom 
seen  the  herds.     The  Factory  next  southward,  [in]  the  direc- 


DEER  101 

tion  of  the  Deer  was  that  of  Severn  River,^  about  250  miles  dis- 
tant, they  knew  nothing  of  this  herd  and  through  the  summer 
had  no  more  than  usual.  At  York  Factory  it  was  other  wise, 
the  Deer  were  more  numerous  than  usual,  but  only  near  the 
sea  side.  We  attempted  to  estimate  the  number  of  Deer  that 
passed  in  this  great  herd  but  the  Natives  pointed  out  their 
method,  which  was  thought  the  best  ;  this  was  to  allow  the 
Deer  a  full  hour  and  a  half  (by  the  Sun)  in  the  morning  to 
feed,  and  the  same  before  sunset ;  this  would  give  ten  full 
hours  of  running,  of  what  we  thought  twenty  miles  an  hour, 
which  they  reduced  to  twelve  miles,  observing  that  large 
herds  appear  to  run  faster  than  they  really  do.  By  this 
means  they  extended  the  herd  of  the  first  day  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  in  length  and  the  herd  of  the  second  day  to 
half  as  much  more,  making  the  whole  length  of  the  herd  to 
be  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  length,  by  one  hundred 
yards  in  breadth.  The  Natives  do  not  understand  high 
numbers,  but  they  readily  comprehend  space,  though  they 
cannot  define  it  by  miles  and  acres ;  and  their  Clock  is  the 
path  of  the  Sun.  By  the  above  space,  allowing  to  each  deer, 
ten  feet  by  eight  feet ;  an  area  of  eighty  square  feet ;  the 
number  of  Rein  Deer  that  passed  was  3,564,000,  an  immense 
number ;  without  including  the  many  small  herds.  Thus 
what  we  learn  by  numbers,  we  learn  by  space.  Then  apply- 
ing themselves  to  me,  they  said,  You  that  look  at  the  Stars 
tell  us  the  cause  of  the  regular  march  of  this  herd  of  Deer. 
I  replied,  "  Instinct."  What  do  you  mean  by  that  word. 
It's  meaning  is  "  the  free  and  voluntary  actions  of  an  animal 
for  it's  self  preservation."     Oh  Oh,  then  you  think  this  herd 

^  The  factory  or  trading  post  near  the  mouth  of  the  Severn  river 
was  estabUshed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  sometime  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  secure  the  trade  of  the  Indians,  whose 
hunting-grounds  were  on  the  Severn  river  and  its  tributaries.  The  post 
is  situated  240  miles  south-eastward  along  the  shore  of  Hudson  Bay  from 
York  Factory  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Severn  river,  six  miles  above  its 
mouth,  and  is  still  annually  supplied  from  York  Factory. 


102      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  Deer  rushed  forward  over  deep  swamps,  in  which  some 
perished,  the  others  ran  over  them  ;  down  steep  banks  to 
break  their  necks ;  swam  across  large  Rivers,  where  the  strong 
drowned  the  weak ;  went  a  long  way  through  woods  where 
they  had  nothing  to  eat,  merely  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
You  white  people,  you  look  hke  wise  men,  and  talk  like 
fools.  The  Deer  feeds  quietly,  and  lays  down  when  left  to 
itself.  Do  you  not  perceive  this  great  herd  was  under  the 
direct  order  of  their  Manito  and  that  he  was  with  them,  he 
had  gathered  them  together,  made  them  take  a  regular  line, 
and  drove  them  on  to  where  they  are  to  go  :  "  And  where 
is  that  place.  We  don't  know.  But  when  he  gets  them 
there,  they  will  disperse,  none  of  them  will  ever  come  back ; 
and  I  had  to  give  up  my  doctrine  of  Instinct,  to  that  of  their 
Manito.  I  have  sometimes  thought  Instinct,  to  be  a  word 
invented  by  the  learned  to  cover  their  ignorance  of  the  ways 
and  doings  of  animals  for  their  self  preservation ;  it  is  a 
learned  word  and  shuts  up  all  the  reasoning  powers. 

On  this  stony  region,  there  is  another  species  of  Deer, 
which  I  take  to  be  a  nondescript ;  by  the  Nahathaway 
Indians  it  is  called  "  Mahthee  Mooswah,"  (the  ugly  Moose)  ^ 
it  is  found  only  on  a  small  extent  of  country  mostly  about 
the  Hatchet  Lake,^  in  Latitude  .  .  .  and  Longitude  .  .  . 
This  deer  seems  to  be  a  Hnk  between  the  Moose  and  the  Rein 
Deer  ;  it  is  about  twice  the  weight  of  the  latter  ;  and  has 
the  habits  of  the  former  ;  it's  horns  are  palmated  somewhat 
like  those  of  a  Moose,  and  it's  colour  is  much  the  same ;  it 
feeds  on  buds  and  the  tender  branches  of  Willows  and 
Aspins,   and   also   on   moss.     In   all   my   wanderings    I   have 

1  Evidently  some  form  of  the  Woodland  Caribou,  but  if  recognizable, 
not  known  to  science.  No  specimens  from  this  region  appear  to  have  been 
examined  by  naturalists.  The  animals  are  said  to  be  much  larger  than 
the  Barren  Ground  Caribou,  Rangifer  arcticus  (Rich.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Hatchet  lake  is  a  small  rectangular  body  of  clear  water  lying  on  the 
Stone  river  in  latitude  58°  45'  N.  and  longitude  103  45'  W.  Its  greatest 
length  is  twelve  miles,  and  its  greatest  width  seven  miles. 


DEER  108 

seen  only  two  alive,  and  but  a  glimpse  of  them,  they  bounded 
off  with  the  trot  of  the  Moose ;  and  two  that  were  killed  by 
the  Hunters ;  one  of  them  was  entirely  cut  up,  the  other 
had  only  the  bowels  taken  out ;  this  I  wished  to  measure, 
but  I  saw  the  Hunters  eyed  with  superstition  what  I  wished 
to  do,  and  desisted,  and  turned  the  matter  off  by  enquiring 
how  many  of  their  skins  make  a  comfortable  Tent,  they  told 
me  ten  to  twelve.  They  keep  their  haunts  like  the  Moose, 
and  when  started  return  to  them,  but  [I]  could  not  learn 
whether  they  fed  in  rude  circles,  Hke  the  Moose ;  Their 
meat  is  almost  as  good  as  that  of  the  Moose,  and  far  better 
than  that  of  the  Rein  Deer ;  When  each  of  us  was  roasting 
a  small  piece  at  the  fire,  one  of  the  Hunters  said  to  me.  We 
did  not  Hke  to  see  you  measure  the  Deer,  for  fear  their  Manito 
would  be  angry,  he  is  soon  displeased,  and  does  not  like  his 
Deer  to  be  killed,  and  has  not  many  of  them. 

The  reason  that  this  species  of  deer  is  so  very  little  known 
is,  it's  haunts  is  on  the  verge  of  the  barren  lands,  far  to  the 
eastward  of  the  route  of  the  Traders,  and  the  country  pro- 
duces but  very  few  furrs. 


CHAPTER    VI 

LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS 

Instruments — Observations — Indian  superstition — Ability  of  the 
Indian  to  travel — Journey  down  the  Wini-peg  River — 
Character  of  the  French  Canadians — Reed  Lake — Indian 
character — ^mall  pox — Amount  of  game — Trading  Posts — 
their  position  and  food — White  Fish — Nets — Beaver — 
Bears  —  Frees — Canoes  —  Will  o'  the  Wisp  —  Climate — 
December — Fapahpahtum  Conjuring  for  wind — A  Gale — 
Indian  logic — Wiskahoo — Apistawahshish — Cannibalism. 

IT  may  now  [be  well  to]  say  something  of  myself,  and  of 
the  character  the  Natives  and  the  french  Canadians 
entertained  of  me,  they  were  almost  my  only  com- 
panions. My  instruments  for  practical  astronomy,  were  a 
brass  Sextant  of  ten  inches  radius,  an  achromatic  Telescope 
of  high  power  for  observing  the  Satellites  of  Jupiter  and  other 
phenomena,  one  of  the  same  construction  for  common  use, 
Parallel  glasses  and  quicksilver  horizon  for  double  Altitudes  ; 
Compass,  Thermometer,  and  other  requisite  instruments, 
which  I  was  in  the  constant  practice  of  using  in  clear  weather 
for  observations  on  the  Sun,  Moon.  Planets  and  Stars ;  to 
determine  the  positions  of  the  Rivers,  Lakes,  Mountains  and 
other  parts  of  the  country  I  surveyed  from  Hudson  Bay  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Both  Canadians  and  Indians  often  inquired 
of  me  why  I  observed  the  Sun,  and  sometimes  the  Moon, 
in  the  day  time,  and  passed  whole  nights  with  my  instru- 
ments looking  at  the  Moon  and  Stars.     I  told  them  it  was  to 

determine  the  distance  and  direction  from  the  place  I  observed 

104 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     105 

to  other  places ;  neither  the  Canadians  nor  the  Indians 
beHeved  me  ;  for  both  argued  that  if  what  I  said  was  truth, 
I  ought  to  look  to  the  ground,  and  over  it ;  and  not  to  the 
Stars.  Their  opinions  were,  that  I  was  looking  into  futurity 
and  seeing  every  body,  and  what  they  were  doing  ;  how  to 
raise  the  wind  ;  but  did  not  believe  I  could  calm  it,  this 
they  argued  from  seeing  me  obliged  to  wait  the  calming  of 
the  wind  on  the  great  Lakes,  to  which  the  Indians  added  that 
I  knew  where  the  Deer  were,  and  other  superstitious  opinions. 
During  my  life  I  have  always  been  careful  not  to  pretend  to  any 
knowledge  of  futurity,  and  [said]  that  I  knew  nothing  beyond 
the  present  hour  ;  neither  argument,  nor  ridicule  had  any 
effect,  and  I  had  to  leave  them  to  their  own  opinions  and  yet 
inadvertingly  on  my  part,  several  things  happened  to  confirm 
their  opinions  One  fine  evening  in  February  two  Indians 
came  to  the  house  to  trade ;  the  Moon  rose  bright  and  clear 
with  the  planet  Jupiter  a  few  degrees  on  it's  east  side ;  and 
the  Canadians  as  usual  predicted  that  Indians  would  come  to 
trade  in  the  direction  of  this  star.  To  show  them  the  folly 
of  such  predictions,  I  told  them  the  same  bright  star,  the 
next  night,  would  be  as  far  from  the  Moon  on  it's  west  side  ; 
this  of  course  took  place  from  the  Moon's  motion  in  her 
orbit ;  and  is  the  common  occurence  of  almost  every  month, 
and  yet  all  parties  were  persuaded  I  had  done  it  by  some 
occult  power  to  falsify  the  predictions  of  the  Canadians. 
Mankind  are  fond  of  the  marvelous,  it  seems  to  heighten  their 
character  by  relating  they  have  seen  such  things.  I  had 
always  admired  the  tact  of  the  Indian  in  being  able  to  guide 
himself  through  the  darkest  pine  forests  to  exactly  the  place 
he  intended  to  go,  his  keen,  constant  attention  on  every 
thing  ;  the  removal  of  the  smallest  stone,  the  bent  or  broken 
twig  ;  a  shght  mark  on  the  ground,  aU  spoke  plain  language 
to  him.  I  was  anxious  to  acquire  this  knowledge,  and  often 
being  in  company  with  them,  sometimes  for  several  months, 
I  paid  attention  to  what  they  pointed  out  to  me,  and  became 


106      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

almost  equal  to  some  of  them  ;  which  became  of  great  use 
to  me  :  The  North  West  Company  ^  of  Furr  Traders,  from 
their  Depot  in  Lake  Superior  sent  off  Brigades  of  Canoes 
loaded  with  about  three  Tons  weight  of  Merchandise,  Pro- 
visions and  Baggage ;  those  for  the  most  distant  trading 
Posts  are  sent  off  first ;  with  an  allowance  of  two  days  time 
between  each  Brigade  to  prevent  incumbrances  on  the 
Carrying  Places ;  I  was  in  my  first  year  in  the  third  Brigade 
of  six  Canoes  each  and  having  nothing  to  do  but  sketch  off 
my  survey  and  make  Observations,  I  was  noticing  how  far 
we  gained,  or  lost  ground  on  the  Brigade  before  us,  by  the 
fires  they  made,  and  other  marks,  as  we  were  equally  manned 
with  five  men  to  each  canoe  :  In  order  to  prevent  the  winter 
coming  on  us,  before  we  reached  our  distant  winter  quarters 
the  Men  had  to  work  very  hard  from  dayhght  to  sunset,  or 
later,  and  at  night  slept  on  the  ground,  constantly  worried 
by  Musketoes ;  and  had  no  time  to  look  about  them ;  I 
found  we  gained  very  little  on  them  ;  at  the  end  of  fifteen 
days  we  had  to  arrive  at  Lake  Winipeg,  (that  is  the  Sea  Lake 
from  it's  size)  and  for  more  than  two  days  it  had  been  blowing 

1  The  North- West  Company  was  first  formed  in  1783,  v/hen  a  number 
of  English  fur-traders  trading  from  Montreal,  realizing  that  competition 
was  proving  ruinous  to  them  and  to  the  Canadian  fur-trade,  united  their 
forces.  The  chief  figures  in  the  new  company  were  Peter  Pond,  Peter 
Pangman,  Benjamin  and  Joseph  Frobisher,  and  Simon  McTavish.  Those 
traders  who  were  not  included  in  this  company  formed  a  rival  organization 
under  the  name  of  Gregory,  McLeod,  and  Company.  After  three  or  four 
years  of  competition,  these  two  companies  were  amalgamated  in  1787 
under  the  title  of  the  North-West  Company.  The  amalgamated  company 
operated  throughout  the  west  until  1798,  when  several  of  the  partners, 
among  them  Alexander  Mackenzie,  broke  away  from  their  former  associ- 
ates, and  formed  an  independent  company,  officially  styled  Forsyth, 
Richardson,  and  Company,  but  popularly  known  as  the  X  Y  Company. 
For  the  next  six  years  these  two  companies,  composed  of  men  who  had 
been  old  associates,  and  who  had  been  trained  in  the  same  school,  waged 
a  severe  commercial  war  with  each  other  ;  but  in  1 804  they  decided  to 
reunite  their  interests  in  one  company,  which  retained  the  name  of  the 
North-West  Company.  In  1821  the  North- West  Company  was  merged  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     107 

a  north  west  gale,  which  did  not  allow  the  Brigade  before  us 
to  proceed  ;  and  I  told  the  Guide,  that  early  the  next  morning 
we  should  see  them  ;  these  Guides  have  charge  of  conducting 
the  march  and  are  all  proud  of  coming  up  to  the  canoes 
ahead  of  them,  and  by  dawn  of  day  we  entered  the  Lake 
now  calm,  and  as  the  day  came  on  us,  saw  the  Brigade  that 
were  before  us,  only  one  Mile  ahead  of  us.  The  Guide  and 
the  men  shouted  with  joy,  and  when  we  came  up  to  them 
told  them  of  my  wonderful  predictions,  and  that  I  had 
pointed  out  every  place  they  had  slept  at,  and  aU  by  looking 
at  the  Stars ;  one  party  seemed  deHghted  in  being  credulous, 
the  other  in  exageration  ;  such  are  ignorant  men,  who  never 
give  themselves  a  moments  reflection.  The  fact  is  Jean 
Baptiste  wiU  not  think,  he  is  not  paid  for  it ;  when  he  has  a 
minute's  respite  he  smokes  his  pipe,  his  constant  companion 
and  all  goes  well ;  he  will  go  through  hardships,  but  requires 
a  beUy  full,  at  least  once  a  day,  good  Tobacco  to  smoke,  a 
warm  Blanket,  and  a  kind  Master  who  will  take  his  share  of 
hard  times  and  be  the  first  in  danger.  Naval  and  MiHtary 
Men  are  not  fit  to  command  them  in  distant  countries,  neither 
do  they  place  confidence  in  one  of  themselves  as  a  leader  ; 
they  always  prefer  an  Enghshman,  but  they  ought  always  to 
be  kept  in  constant  employment  however  Hght  it  may  be. 

Having  passed  eight  winters  in  different  parts  of  this 
Stony  Region,  and  as  many  open  Seasons  in  discovering  part 
of  it's  many  Rivers  and  Lakes,  and  surveying  them  ;  and  as 
the  productions,  the  mode  and  manner  of  subsistence  is 
everywhere  the  same ;  to  prevent  repetition  I  shall  confine 
myself  to  a  central  position,  for  the  phenomena  of  the 
cUmate,  and  every  thing  else  worth  attention  ;  This  place  is 
[called]  the    Reed  Lake^   (Peepeequoonuskoo  Sakahagan)   by 

^  The  trading  post  at  this  lake  was  built  in  1794  by  Thompson  for  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  and  in  it  he  spent  the  following  winter.  Later, 
he  spent  the  winter  of  1805-06  not  far  from  the  same  place  while  trading 
for  the  North-West  Company.  The  lake,  which  has  an  area  of  85  square 
miles,  is  situated  in  the  forest  area  north  of  the  Saskatchewan  river,  and 


108      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  Natives.  It  is  a  sheet  of  water  about  forty  miles  in  length, 
by  three  to  five  miles  in  width ;  the  land  all  around  it, 
sometimes  showing  cliffs,  but  in  most  places  rising  gently  to 
about  the  height  of  one  hundred  feet,  everywhere  having  fine 
forests  of  Birch  Aspins  and  several  kinds  of  Pine  :  the  Trading 
House  in  Latitude  54°  40'  N.  Longitude  101°  30'  west  of 
Greenwich.  The  Thermometer  was  made  by  Dolland  and 
divided  to  102  degrees  below  Zero.  This  section  of  the 
Stony  Region  is  called  the  Musk  Rat  Country  and  contains 
an  area  of  about  22,360  square  miles,  of  which,  full  two  fifths 
of  this  surface  is  Rivers  and  Lakes,  having  phenomena  distinct 
from  the  dry,  elevated,  distant,  interior  countries.  The 
Natives  are  Nahathaway  Indians,  whose  fathers  from  time 
beyond  any  tradition,  have  hunted  in  these  Lands ;  in  con- 
versing with  them  on  their  origin,  they  appear  never  to  have 
turned  their  minds  to  this  subject ;  and  [think]  that  mankind 
and  the  animals  are  in  a  constant  state  of  succession  ;  and 
the  time  of  their  great  grandfathers  is  the  extent  of  their 
actual  knowledge  of  times  past  ;  their  tradition  of  the 
Deluge  and  of  the  Rainbow  I  have  already  mentioned  ;  yet 
their  stories  all  refer  to  times  when  Men  were  much  taller 
and  stronger  than  at  present,  the  animals  more  numerous, 
and  many  could  converse  with  mankind,  particularly,  the 
Bear,  Beaver,  Lynx  and  Fox.  Writers  on  the  North  American 
Indians  always  write  as  comparing  them,  with  themselves 
who  are  aU  men  of  education,  and  of  course  [the  Indians] 
lose  by  comparison  ;  this  is  not  fair ;  let  them  be  compared 
with  those  who  are  uneducated  in  Europe,  yet  even  in  this 
comparison  the  Indian  has  the  disadvantage  in  not  having 
the  light  of  Christianity.  Of  course  his  moral  character  has 
not  the  firmness  of  christian  morality,  but  in  practice  he  is 

just  at  the  foot  of  a  low  escarpment  of  limestone  which  rises  to  the  south 
of  it.  Except  on  the  south  side  the  rock  underlying  the  surrounding 
country  is  granite,  but  overlying  the  granite  in  many  places  is  a  moderate 
thickness  of  good  clay  soil. 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     109 

fully  equal  to  those  of  his  class  in  Europe  ;  living  without 
law,  they  are  a  law  to  themselves.  The  Indian  is  said  to  be 
a  creature  of  apathy,  when  he  appears  to  be  so,  he  is  in  an 
assumed  character  to  conceal  what  is  passing  in  his  mind  ; 
as  he  has  nothing  of  the  almost  infinite  diversity  of  things 
which  interest  and  amuse  the  civilised  man  ;  his  passions, 
desires  and  affections  are  strong,  however  appeared  subdued, 
and  engage  the  whole  man  ;  the  law  of  retaliation,  which  is 
fuUy  allowed,  makes  the  life  of  man  respected  ;  and  in  general 
he  abhors  the  sheding  of  blood,  and  should  sad  necessity 
compel  him  to  it,  which  is  sometimes  the  case,  he  is  held  to 
be  an  unfortunate  man  ;  but  he  who  has  committed  wilful 
murder  is  held  in  abhorrence,  as  one  with  whom  the  life  of 
no  person  is  in  safety,  and  possessed  with  an  evil  spirit.  When 
Hudson  Bay  was  discovered,  and  the  first  trading  settlement 
made,  the  Natives  were  far  more  numerous  than  at  present. 

In  the  year  1782,  the  small  pox^  from  Canada  extended 
to  them,  and  more  than  one  .half  of  them  died  ;  since  which 
although  they  have  no  enemies,  their  country  very  healthy, 
yet  their  numbers  increase  very  slowly.  The  Musk  Rat 
country,  of  which  I  have  given  the  area,  may  have  ninety 
two  famiHes,  each  of  seven  souls,  giving  to  each  family  an 
area  of  two  hundred  and  forty  eight  square  miles  of  hunting 
grounds  ;  or  thirty  five  square  miles  to  each  soul,  a  very 
thin  population.     A  recent  writer  (Ballantyne)^  talks  of  myriads 

1  The  exact  date  when  smallpox  first  spread  among  the  Indians  through- 
out the  North-West  is  not  quite  certain  ;  but  it  would  appear  that  it  was 
sometime  during  1781,  and  that  it  disappeared,  or  at  least  greatly  de- 
creased in  virulence,  in  1782.  A  full  account  of  the  havoc  played  among 
the  Indians  by  this  dread  disease  will  be  found  in  Thompson's  own  words 
on  pages  321-25. 

*  It  was  about  the  time  when  Thompson  was  writing  his  memoirs 
that  R.  M.  Ballantyne  began  to  publish  his  interesting  stories  of  life  among 
the  fur-traders  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  western  Canada.  Ballan- 
tyne was  then  a  young  man,  and  Thompson  was  getting  very  old  ;  and  it 
is  possible  that  the  exuberance  of  spirit  shown  by  the  former  may  have 
grated  on  the  mature  judgment  of  the  older  man.  Game  was  then,  and 
is  yet,  fairly  abundant  throughout  many  parts  of  what  Thompson  calls 


no     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  wild  animals  ;  such  writers  talk  at  random,  they  have  never 
counted,  nor  calculated ;  the  animals  are  by  no  means 
numerous,  and  only  in  sufficient  numbers  to  give  a  tolerable 
subsistence  to  the  Natives,  who  are  too  often  obhged  to  live 
on  very  little  food,  and  sometimes  all  but  perish  with  hunger. 
Very  few  Beaver  are  to  be  found,  the  Bears  are  not  many 
and  all  the  furr  bearing  animals  an  Indian  can  kill  can  scarcely 
furnish  himself  and  family  with  the  bare  necessaries  of  life. 
A  strange  Idea  prevails  among  these  Natives,  and  also  of  all 
the  Indians  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  though  unknown  to 
each  other,  that  when  they  were  numerous,  before  they 
were  destroyed  by  the  Small  Pox  all  the  animals  of  every 
species  were  also  very  numerous  and  more  so  in  comparison 
of  the  number  of  Natives  than  at  present ;  and  this  was 
confirmed  to  me  by  old  Scotchmen  in  the  service  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  by  the  Canadians  from  Canada ; 
the  knowledge  of  the  latter  extended  over  all  the  interior 
countries,  yet  no  disorder  was  known  among  the  animals  ; 
the  fact  was  certain,  and  nothing  they  knew  of  could  account 
for  it ;  it  might  justly  be  supposed  the  destruction  of  Mankind 
would  allow  the  animals  to  increase,  even  to  become  formidable 
to  the  few  Natives  who  survived,  but  neither  the  Bison,  the 
Deer,  nor  the  carnivorous  animals  increased,  and  as  I  have 
already  remarked,  are  no  more  than  sufficient  for  the  subsis- 
tence of  the  Natives  and  Traders.  The  trading  Houses  over 
the  whole  country  are  situated  on  the  banks  of  lakes,  of  at 
least  twenty  miles  in  length  by  two  or  three  miles  in  width  ; 
and  as  much  larger  as  may  be,  as  it  is  only  large  and  deep 
Lakes  that  have  Fish  sufficient  to  maintain  the  Trader  and 
his  Men,  for  the  Indians  at  best  can  only  afford  a  Deer  now 
and  then. 

Some  Lakes  give  only  what  is  called  a  Fall  Fishery.     This 

the  Muskrat  country,  but  the  hunter's  life  is  everywhere  a  precarious  one, 
for  the  wild  animals  may  move  quickly  from  place  to  place  and  the  natives, 
who  need  to  obtain  food  daily  in  order  to  live,  may  not  be  able  to  follow 
them  or  to  find  them  quickly  enough  to  avert  starvation. 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     111 

fishery  commences  in  October  and  lasts  to  about  Christmas ; 
the  fish  caught  are  white  fish^  and  pike.^  Whatever  is  not 
required  for  the  day  is  frozen  and  laid  by  in  a  hoard  ;  and 
with  all  care  is  seldom  more  than  enough  for  the  winter 
and  a  fish  once  frozen  loses  it's  good  taste  unless  kept  in  that 
state  until  it  is  thrown  into  the  kettle  of  boiling  water.  Fish 
thawed  and  then  boiled  are  never  good  ;  We  who  pass  the 
winter  on  fish,  and  sometimes  also  the  summer,  are  the  best 
judges,  for  we  have  nothing  with  them,  neither  butter  nor 
sauces ;  and  too  often  not  a  grain  of  salt.  The  best  Lakes 
are  those  that  have  a  steady  fishery  ;  and  according  to  the 
number  and  length  of  the  Nets  give  a  certain  number  of 
White  Fish ;  throughout  the  winter.  The  deep  Lakes  that 
have  sandy,  pebbly  beaches,  with  bottoms  of  the  same  may 
be  depended  on  for  a  steady  fishery  The  Fish  on  which  the 
Traders  place  dependance  are  the  White  Fish,  in  such  Lakes 
as  I  have  last  described.  It  is  a  rich  well  tasted,  nourishing 
food ;  but  in  shoal  muddy  Lakes  it  is  poor  and  not  well 
tasted  ;  and  when  a  new  trading  House  is  built  which  is 
almost  every  year,  every  one  is  anxious  to  know  the  quaUty 
of  the  fish  it  contains  for  whatever  it  is  they  have  no  other 
for  the  winter.  These  fish  vary  very  much  in  size  and  weight, 
from  two  to  thirteen  pounds  and  each  great  Lake  appears  to 
have  a  sort  peculiar  to  itself,  it  is  preyed  upon  by  the  Pike 
and  Trout ;  and  also  the  white  headed,  or  bald,  Eagle.  The 
seine  is  seldom  used,  it  is  too  heavy  and  expensive,  and  useless 
in  winter.  The  set  Net  is  that  which  is  in  constant  use  ; 
those  best  made  are  of  hoUand  twine,  with  a  five  and  a  half 
inch  mesh  but  this  mesh  must  be  adapted  to  the  size  of  the 
fish  and  ranges  from  three  to  seven  inches ;  the  best  length  is 
fifty  fathoms,  the  back  fines,  on  which  the  net  is  extended  and 
fastened  are  of  small  cord ;  every  thing  must  be  neat  and 
fine  :  Instead  of  Corks  and  Leads,  small  stones  are  tied  to 
the  bottom  line  with  twine  at  every  two  fathoms,  opposite 

^  Coregonus.     [E.  A.  P.]  "  Esox  lucius  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 


112      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

to  each  on  the  upper  line,  a  float  of  light  pine,  or  cedar  wood 
is  tied  which  keeps  the  net  distended  ;  both  in  summer  and 
winter  the  best  depth  for  nets,  is  three  to  five  fathom  water  ; 
in  shoal  water  the  fish  are  not  so  good.  In  winter  the  nets 
being  sheltered  by  the  ice,  the  fishery  is  more  steady,  not 
being  disturbed  by  gales  of  wind.  In  some  Lakes  in  Spring 
and  Autumn  there  are  an  abundance  of  grey^  and  red  Carp  ;'^ 
the  former  have  so  very  many  small  bones  that  only  the  head 
and  a  piece  behind  it  are  eaten  ;  but  the  red  Carp  are  a  good 
fish  though  weak  food.  The  daily  allowance  of  a  Man  is 
eight  pounds  of  fish,  which  is  held  to  be  equal  to  five  pounds 
of  meat ;  almost  the  only  change  through  the  year  are  hares 
and  grouse,  very  dry  eating  ;  a  few  Martens,^  a  chance  Beaver,* 
Lynx^  and  Porcupine.'^  Vegetables  would  be  acceptable  but 
[are]  not  worth  the  trouble  and  risk  of  raising,  and  almost 
every  small  trading  house  is  deserted  during  the  summer,  or 
only  two  men  [are]  left  to  take  care  of  the  place  ;  every  person 
with  very  few  exceptions,  enjoys  good  health,  and  we  neither 
had,  nor  required  a  medical  Man.  Formerly  the  Beavers 
were  very  numerous,  the  many  Lakes  and  Rivers  gave  them 
ample  space ;  and  the  poor  Indian  had  then  only  a  pointed 
stick  shaped  and  hardened  in  the  fire,  a  stone  Hatchet,  Spear 
and  Arrow  heads  of  the  same ;  thus  armed  he  was  weak 
against  the  sagacious  Beaver,  who,  on  the  banks  of  a  Lake, 
made  itself  a  house  of  a  foot  thick,  or  more ;  composed  of 
earth  and  small  flat  stones,  crossed  and  bound  together  with 
pieces  of  wood ;  upon  which  no  impression  could  be  made 
but  by  fire.  But  when  the  arrival  of  the  White  People  had 
changed  all  their  weapons  from  stone  to  iron  and  steel,  and 
added  the  fatal  Gun,  every   animal  fell  before  the   Indian  ; 

^  Moxostoma  lesueuri  (Richardson).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Catostomus  catostomus  (Forster).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Martes  a.  ahieticola  (Preble).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Castor  canadensis  Kuhl.     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Lynx  canadensis  Kerr.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Erethizon  dorsatum  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     113 

the  Bear  was  no  longer  dreaded,  and  the  Beaver  became  a 
desirable  animal  for  food  and  clothing,  and  the  furr  a  valuable 
article  of  trade ;  and  as  the  Beaver  is  a  stationary  animal, 
it  could  be  attacked  at  any  convenient  time  in  all  seasons, 
and  thus  their  numbers  soon  became  reduced. 

The  old  Indians,  when  speaking  of  their  ancestors,  wonder 
how  they  could  live  as  the  Beaver  was  wiser,  and  the  Bear 
stronger,  than  them,  and  confess,  that  if  they  were  deprived 
of  the  Gun,  they  could  not  live  by  the  Bow  and  Arrow, 
and  must  soon  perish.  The  Beaver  skin  is  the  standard  by 
which  other  Furrs  are  traded  ;  and  London  prices  have  very 
little  influence  on  this  value  of  barter,  which  is  more  a  matter 
of  expedience  and  convenience  to  the  Trader  and  the  Native, 
than  of  real  value.  The  only  Bears  of  this  country,  are  the 
small  black  Bear,^  with  a  chance  Yellow  Bear,  this  latter  has 
a  fine  furr  and  trades  for  three  Beavers  in  barter,  when  full 
grown.  The  Black  Bear  is  common  and  according  to  size 
passes  for  one  or  two  Beavers,  the  young  are  often  tamed  by 
the  Natives,  and  are  harmless  and  playful,  until  near  full 
grown,  when  they  become  troublesome,  and  are  killed,  or 
sent  into  the  woods ;  while  they  can  procure  roots  and 
berries,  they  look  for  nothing  else.  But  in  the  Spring,  when 
they  leave  their  winter  dens,  they  can  get  neither  the  one, 
nor  the  other,  prowl  about,  and  go  to  the  Rapids  where  the 
Carp  are  spawning  ;  here  Bruin  lives  in  plenty ;  but  not 
content  with  what  it  can  eat,  amuses  itself  with  tossing 
ashore  ten  times  more  than  it  can  devour,  each  stroke  of  it's 
fore  paw  sending  a  fish  eight  or  ten  yards  according  to  it's 
size  ;  the  fish  thus  thrown  ashore  attract  the  Eagle  and  the 
Raven ;  ^  the  sight  of  these  birds  flying  about,  leads  the 
Indian  to  the  place,  and  Bruin  loses  his  Hfe  and  his  skin. 
The  meat  of  the  Bear  feeding  on  roots  and  berries  becomes 

^  Ursus  americanus  Pallas.  The  so-called  Yellow  Bear  is  merely  a 
colour  phase  of  the  Black  Bear.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Corvus  corax  principalis  Ridgw^ay.     [E.  A.  P.] 

H 


114      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

very  fat  and  good,  and  in  this  condition  it  enters  it's  den 
for  the  winter ;  at  the  end  of  which  the  meat  is  still  good, 
and  has  some  fat,  but  the  very  first  meal  of  fish  the  taste 
of  the  meat  is  changed  for  the  worse,  and  soon  becomes 
disagreeable.  When  a  Mahmees  Dog,  in  the  winter  season 
has  discovered  a  den,  and  the  Natives  go  to  kill  the  Bear, 
on  uncovering  the  top  of  the  den,  Bruin  is  found  roused  out 
of  it's  dormant  state,  and  sitting  ready  to  defend  itself ;  the 
eldest  man  now  makes  a  speech  to  it ;  reproaching  the  Bear 
and  all  it's  race  with  being  the  old  enemies  of  Man,  killing 
the  children  and  women,  when  it  was  large  and  strong ;  but 
now,  since  the  Manito  has  made  him,  small  and  weak  to  what 
he  was  before,  he  has  all  the  will,  though  not  the  power  to 
be  as  bad  as  ever,  that  he  is  treacherous  and  cannot  be  trusted, 
that  although  he  has  sense  he  makes  bad  use  of  it,  and  must 
therefore  be  killed  ;  parts  of  the  speech  have  many  repeti- 
tions to  impress  it's  truth  on  the  Bear,  who  all  the  time  is 
grinning  and  growling,  wiUing  to  fight,  but  more  willing  to 
escape,  until  the  axe  descends  on  it's  head,  or  [it]  is  shot ;  the 
latter  more  frequently,  as  the  den  is  often  under  the  roots 
of  fallen  trees,  and  protected  by  the  branches  of  the  roots. 

When  a  Bear  thus  killed  was  hauled  out  of  it's  den,  I 
enquired  of  the  Indian  who  made  the  speech,  whether  he 
really  thought  the  Bear  understood  him.  He  repHed,  "  how 
can  you  doubt  it,  did  you  not  see  how  ashamed  I  made  him, 
and  how  he  held  down  his  head ; "  "  He  might  well  hold 
down  his  head,  when  you  were  flourishing  a  heavy  axe  over 
it,  with  which  you  killed  him."  On  this  animal  they  have 
several  superstitions,  and  he  acts  a  prominent  part  in  many 
of  their  tales.  All  the  other  furr  bearing  animals  have  been 
already  noticed.  On  the  western  parts  of  this  region  the 
Forests  have  trees  of  a  finer  and  larger  growth,  and  now 
contain  two  kinds  of  Birch,  the  white  ^  and  the  red  ;  ^    one  of 

1  Betula  papyrifera  Marsh.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Probably  Betula  alaskana  Sargent.     [E.  A.  P.] 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     115 

Poplar  ^  and  one  of  Aspin,^  one  kind  of  Larch,^  two  of  Fir  ;  * 
four  of  Pine  ;  ^  with  Alders  and  Willows.  Of  these  the  White 
Birch  is  the  most  valuable,  and  contributes  more  than  all 
the  others  to  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life.  Of  the 
Birch  their  Bows,  Axe  helves  and  Spear  handles  are  made, 
and  several  other  things ;  in  the  Spring  the  sap,  when  boiled 
down,  yields  a  weak  molasses  :  but  the  most  useful  part  is 
the  Rind,  which  is  peculiar  to  this  tree  ;  the  bark  is  of  a  redish 
color,  and  good  for  tanning  :  this  bark  is  covered  with  a 
Rind,  it's  growth  in  a  horizontal,  or  longitudinal,  direction  ; 
while  that  of  the  Tree,  and  it's  bark  are  vertical ;  in  my 
travels  I  have  noticed,  that  the  thickness  of  the  Rind  depends 
on  the  climate ;  the  colder  the  climate  the  thicker  the  Birch 
Rind ;  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains  where  the  winter 
is  very  mild,  the  White  Birch  is  a  noble  large  Tree,  but  the 
Rind  too  thin  to  be  useful  for  Canoes.  In  this  region,  few 
white  Birch  exceed  thirty  inches  in  girth ;  but  in  general 
the  Rind  is  excellent  for  all  purposes  and  is  from  two  eights 
to  three  eights  in  thickness  ;  it  is  all  marked  with  what  is 
called  cores  on  the  outside  of  the  rind,  of  about  an  inch  in 
length ;  and  narrow,  when  these  go  through  the  rind,  it 
makes  it  useless  for  canoes.  When  the  Natives  see  a  Birch 
tree  with  deep  cores,  they  say  it  has  been  severely  flogged 
by  Weesaukejauk  (the  Flatterer)  for  by  their  tradition,  when 
the  Trees  were  renovated  after  the  deluge,  Weesaukejauk 
commanded  them  all  to  appear  before  him,  which  order  they 
all  obeyed  but  the  Birch  Tree ;  which  for  disobedience  he 
flogged,  of  which  the  cores  are  the  marks.  The  best  time 
for  raising  the  rind  off  the  Birch  Tree  is  the  early  part  of  the 
summer  ;    the  tree  being  smooth  is  difficult  to  ascend,  and 

>  Populus  balsamifera  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Populus  tremuloides  Michx.     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Larix  laricina  (Du  Roi).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Abies  halsamea  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Pinus  divaricata   (Ait.).      Thompson  evidently  had  in  mind  other 
species  found  farther  west.     [E.  A.  P.] 


116      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

for  this  purpose  the  Native  ties  a  strong  leather  cord  to  the 
great  toes  of  his  feet,  leaving  a  space  between  them  of  about 
one  foot,  and  having  a  strong  square  headed  knife,  very  sharp 
at  the  point,  in  his  belt,  he  ascends  the  tree  to  as  high  as  the 
Rind  is  good,  then  raising  a  small  strip  from  around  the  tree, 
in  a  straight  line  downwards  cuts  quite  through  the  rind, 
which  readily  leaves  the  bark,  and  while  the  sap  is  rising  comes 
off  so  freely  that  two  persons  with  Hght  poles  keep  it  to  the 
tree  until  it  can  be  carefully  taken  down  ;  it  is  then  warmed 
and  it's  circular  form  made  flat,  laid  on  the  ground,  and  kept 
so,  by  light  logs  of  wood  ;  and  thus  [it]  becomes  fit  for  use. 
The  common  length  from  one  tree  is  from  nine  to  fifteen 
feet,  with  a  breadth  of  twenty  four  to  thirty  inches,  very 
few  trees  yield  a  greater  breadth,  in  this  cHmate.  As  the 
Birch  Rind  is  impervious  to  water  ;  Canoes  are  made  of  it 
of  all  sizes  to  thirty  feet  in  length,  by  four  to  five  feet  in 
breadth  on  the  middle  bar  ;  this  large  size  is  made  use  of 
by  the  Traders,  for  the  conveyance  of  furrs  and  goods,  and 
is  so  light,  it  is  carried  by  two  men,  when  turned  up.  On 
shore,  it  affords  good  shelter  to  the  Men,  against  Rain  and 
the  night.  The  canoes  of  the  Natives  are  from  ten  to  sixteen 
feet  in  length,  and  breadth  in  proportion,  during  the  open 
season,  they  are  almost  constantly  in  them  ;  hunting  ;  re- 
moving from  place  to  place,  the  Rivers  and  numerous  Lakes 
giving  free  access  through  the  whole  country.  Their  dishes 
and  domestic  utensils  are  mostly  of  Birch  Rind,  which  are 
made  of  various  sizes,  and  pack  up  with  [each]  other  and  being 
light,  with  a  smooth,  firm,  surface  are  easily  kept  clean.  This 
Rind  is  inflamable,  and  makes  bright  torches.  For  coverings 
to  their  tents  and  lodges,  the  Rind  is  sewed  together  so  as 
to  take  the  form  required  ;  and  being  water  proof,  make  a 
light  comfortable  tent  in  all  weathers,  and  when  the  rain  is 
over,  the  Natives  can  directly  remove ;  whereas  a  leather 
tent  when  soaked  with  rain,  requires  a  day's  time  and  fire  to 
dry  it.     Unfortunately  the  cold  of  winter  renders  it  brittle 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     117 

and  liable  to  accidents ;    and  it  must  be  warmed  before  it 
can  be  rolled  up  for  removal ;    and  the  same  to  unroll  it. 
The  red  Birch  has  a  tougher  wood,  and  in  this  respect  is 
preferred  to  the  White,  but  it's  rind  is  thin,  and  as  it  grows 
among  rocks,  very  often  is  small,  crooked  and  knotty.     The 
Fir  is  resinous,  and  makes  good  flambeaux's  for  spearing  fish 
at  night.    The  Larch  is  in  request  for  making  flat  Sleds,  used 
by  the  Natives  for  the  removal  of  their  goods  and  provisions 
in  winter,  it  sparkles  too  much  to  be  used  for  fire  wood, 
and  all  the  Pine  woods  are  more  or  less  the  same  for  fuel. 
The  Firs  and  resinous  Pines  when  wholly  decayed,  become 
fine  sand,  without  any  vegetable  mould,   but  all  the  trees 
and  willows,  not  of  the  pine  genus,  enrich  the  soil  by  the 
decay  of  the  leaves  and  the  wood  ;    The  Larch  is  leafless  all 
winter,  and  other  Pines  shed  their  leaves  in  summer,  yet  they 
also  become  sand,   and  do  not  profit  the  soil.     The  great 
expanse  of  Lake   surface  in  this   region,   causes  phenomena, 
that  are   peculiar   to   such  a  surface ;    In  the  winter  season, 
every  calm  clear  night,  especially  in  the  early  part ;    there 
are  innumerable  very  small  luminous,  meteoric  points,  which 
are  visible  for  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  disappear.     When 
they  are  more  numerous  and  brighter  than  usual,  they  fore- 
tell a  gale  of  wind.     On  one  occasion,  five  of  us  had  to  leave 
our  new  built  winter  house,  as  the  fishery  could  not  maintain 
us,  and  try  to  get  another  trading  house  where  the  fish  were 
more  plentifull ;    On  coming  to  the  Susquagemow  Lake,^  of 
about  thirty  miles  in  length,  by  three  to  five  miles  in  width ; 
it  was  so  sHghtly  frozen  over  we  did  not  think  proper  to  cross 

1  Suskwagemow  or  Sturgeon  lake,  now  known  as  Landing  lake,  lies 
a  short  distance  north-west  of  Nelson  river,  from  which  it  is  reached 
by  a  portage  known  as  Cross  Portage,  one  and  a  half  miles  in  length. 
The  water  from  it  flows  northward  through  the  Grass  river,  which  flows 
into  the  Nelson  river  a  short  distance  above  Split  lake.  The  Hudson 
Bay  Railway  is  at  present  being  constructed  down  the  valley  of  this 
stream.  The  incident  here  referred  to  probably  occurred  in  the  autumn 
of  1792. 


118      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

it,  but  [preferred  to]  wait  until  the  ice  became  stronger. 
This  was  in  November,  roaming  about  for  hares  and  grouse ; 
I  found  a  fine  River  of  about  thirty  yards  in  width  that 
entered  the  Lake  through  a  marsh  ;  about  half  a  mile  up 
which,  was  a  Beaver  House,  with  a  few  yards  of  open  water, 
kept  from  freezing  over  by  the  Beaver.  The  Moon  was  full 
and  rose  beautifully  over  the  east  end  of  the  Lake  ;  While 
the  water  can  be  kept  open,  in  the  early  part  of  the  night 
the  Beaver  swim  about ;  and  Andrew  Davy,  a  tall  young 
Scotchman  and  myself  took  our  guns  and  lay  down  near  the 
Beaver  House  to  shoot  the  Beaver  as  they  swam  about ;  a 
Beaver  came  near  to  Andrew,  his  gun  snapped,  the  Beaver 
gave  a  smart  stroke  on  the  water  with  his  broad  tail,  as  if 
to  bid  us  good  night,  and  plunged  into  his  house ;  although 
there  was  no  more  hope  for  that  night,  being  hungry,  we 
continued  to  watch  until  about  eleven  O'clock  ;  As  we  were 
about  to  rise,  a  brilliant  light  [rose]  over  the  east  end  of  the 
Lake,  its  greatest  length  ;  it  was  a  Meteor  of  a  globular  form, 
and  appeared  larger  than  the  Moon,  which  was  then  high  ; 
it  seemed  to  come  direct  towards  us,  lowering  as  it  came, 
when  within  three  hundred  yards  of  us,  it  struck  the  River 
ice,  with  a  sound  like  a  mass  of  jelly,  was  dashed  into  in- 
numerable luminous  pieces  and  instantly  expired.  Andrew 
would  have  run  away  but  he  had  no  time  to  do  so ;  curiosity 
chained  me  to  the  spot.  We  got  up,  went  to  our  fire,  found 
nothing  to  eat,  and  lay  down.  As  the  ice  of  the  River  was 
covered  with  about  one  sixth  of  an  inch  of  frozen  snow, 
just  enough  to  show  our  footsteps,  the  next  morning  we  went 
to  see  what  marks  this  meteor  had  made  on  the  ice,  but 
could  not  discover  that  a  single  particle  was  marked,  or  re- 
moved ;  it's  form  appeared  globular,  and  from  its  size  must 
have  had  some  weight ;  it  had  no  tail,  and  no  luminous 
sparks  came  from  it  until  dashed  to  pieces.  The  Meteors 
that  have  been  seen  in  Europe,  have  all  appeared  to  be  of  a 
fiery   nature,   some   have   exploded   with   a   loud   noise,   and 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     119 

stones  have  descended  from  them.  Two,  or  three  nights 
afterw-ards,  I  was,  as  usual  roaming  about  to  find  some  game, 
about  six  in  the  evening,  from  the  east  end  of  the  lake,  coming 
in  the  same  direction,  I  saw  a  Meteor,  which  appeared  larger 
but  not  so  bright  as  the  first ;  I  was  near  the  Beaver  house, 
but  walking  in  a  large  grove  of  fine  Aspins,  the  Meteor  entered 
the  wood  about  eight  feet  above  the  ground,  as  it  struck 
the  trees,  pieces  flew  from  it,  and  went  out ;  as  it  passed 
close  hy  me  striking  the  trees  with  the  sound  of  a  mass  of 
jeUy,  I  noticed  them ;  although  it  must  have  lost  much  of 
it's  size  from  the  many  trees  it  struck,  it  went  out  of  my 
sight,  a  large  mass.  The  Aspins  have  on  their  bark  a  whitish 
substance  like  flour,  after  dry  weather ;  the  next  day  I 
examined  the  Aspins  struck  by  the  Meteor,  but  even  this  fine 
flour  on  the  bark  was  not  marked ;  I  was  at  a  loss  what  to 
think  of  it,  it's  stroke  gave  sound,  and  therefore  must  have 
substance.  These  two  Meteors  were,  perhaps,  compressed 
bodies  of  phosphoric  air ;  but  without  the  least  heat,  for  had 
there  been  any,  the  second  Meteor  passed  so  near  to  me  I 
must  have  felt  it. 

I  have  already  described  the  brilliant  Rime  which  covers 
the  WiUows  and  Shrubs  along  the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay, 
this  is  readily  accounted  for,  by  the  evaporation  from  the 
sea  ;  but  the  inland  Lake  shores  have  it  equally  brilliant, 
though  not  in  such  abundance ;  and  [it]  also  proceeds  from 
the  evaporation  from  the  Lakes  though  frozen  over,  and  the 
open  rapids,  and  half  frozen  swamps  have  it  in  abundance, 
the  Lake  shores  less,  until  swept  away  by  a  gale  of  wind,  to 
be  reformed  in  calm  weather.  It  is  well  known  that  water 
frozen  into  ice,  the  latter  has  a  greater  bulk  than  the  quantity 
of  water  frozen ;  and  however  soHd  the  ice  appears,  it  is 
actually  porous  :  When  the  lakes  are  frozen  over  and  there  is 
from  three  to  four  inches  in  thickness,  the  vapours  through  it, 
form  plots  of  ice  flowers,  which  are  composed  of  thin  shining 
leaves  of  ice  round  a  centre,  and  have  a  brilliant  appearance ; 


120      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

they  are  of  all  sizes,  some  so  small  as  to  be  called  snow  pearl. 
The  clearest  ice  have  the  plots  of  small  flowers,  that  which  is 
opaque  has  the  largest  flowers ;  when  the  Sun  shines,  the 
leaves  are  sHghtly  tinged  with  the  colours  of  the  Rainbow, 
have  fine  gaudy  appearance,  but  [are]  too  bright  for  the  eye 
to  bear  any  time ;  the  first  fall  of  snow  covers  them  to  be 
seen  no  more. 

What  is  called  Mirage  is  common  on  all  these  Lakes,  but 
frequently  [is]  simply  an  elevation  of  the  woods  and  shores 
that  bound  the  horizon  ;  yet  at  times  draw  attention  to  the 
change  of  scenery  it  exhibits,  and  on  these  Lakes  has  often 
kept  me  watching  it  for  many  minutes ;  and  [I]  would  have 
stayed  longer  if  the  cold  had  permitted  :  The  first  and  most 
changeable  Mirage  is  seen  in  the  latter  part  of  February  and 
the  month  of  March,  the  weather  clear,  the  wind  calm,  or 
light ;  the  Thermometer  from  ten  above  to  twelve  degrees 
below  zero,  the  time  about  ten  in  the  morning.  On  one 
occasion,  going  to  an  Isle  where  I  had  two  traps  for  Foxes, 
when  about  one  mile  distant,  the  ice  between  me  and  the 
Isle  appeared  of  a  concave  form,  which,  if  I  entered,  I  should 
slide  into  it's  hollow,  sensible  of  the  illusion,  it  had  the  power 
to  perplex  me.  I  found  my  snow  shoes,  on  a  level,  and  ad- 
vanced slowly,  as  afraid  to  slide  into  it ;  in  about  ten  minutes 
this  mirage  ceased,  the  ice  became  [distinct]  and  showed  a 
level  surface,  and  with  confidence  I  walked  to  my  traps,  in 
one  of  which  I  found  a  red  Fox  ;  ^  this  sort  of  Mirage  is  not 
frequent.  That  most  common  elevates  and  depresses  objects, 
and  sometimes  makes  them  appear  to  change  places  :  In  the 
latter  end  of  February  at  the  Reed  Lake,  at  it's  west  end,  a 
Mirage  took  place  in  one  of  it's  boldest  forms  ;  About  three 
miles  from  me  was  the  extreme  shore  of  the  Bay  ;  the  Lake 
was  near  three  miles  in  width,  in  which  was  a  steep  Isle  of 
rock,  and  another  of  tail  Pines ;    on  the  other  side  a  bold 

^   Vulpes  fulva  (Desmarest).     [E.  A..  P.] 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     121 

Point  of  steep  rock.  The  Mirage  began  slowly  to  elevate  all 
objects,  then  gently  to  lower  them,  until  the  Isles,  and  the 
Point  appeared  like  black  spots  on  the  ice,  and  no  higher 
than  it's  surface ;  the  above  bold  Bay  Shore,  was  a  dark 
black  curved  Hne  on  the  ice ;  in  the  time  of  three  minutes, 
they  all  arose  to  their  former  height,  and  became  elevated 
to  twice  their  height,  beyond  the  Bay,  the  rising  grounds, 
distant  eight  miles,  with  all  their  woods  appeared,  and  re- 
mained somewhat  steady  for  a  few  minutes ;  the  Isles  and 
Point  again  disappeared ;  the  Bay  Shore  with  the  distant 
Forests,  came  rolling  forward,  with  an  undulating  motion, 
as  if  in  a  dance,  the  distant  Forests  became  so  near  to  me  I 
could  see  their  branches,  then  with  the  same  motion  retired 
to  half  distance ;  the  Bay  shore  could  not  be  distinguished, 
it  was  blended  with  the  distant  land  ;  thus  advancing  and 
retiring  with  different  elevations  for  about  fifteen  minutes, 
when  the  distant  Forests  vanished,  the  Isles  took  their  place 
and  the  Lake  shores  their  form ;  the  whole  wild  scenery  was 
a  powerful  illusion,  too  fleeting  and  changeful  for  any  pencil. 
This  was  one  of  the  clearest  and  most  distinct  Mirages  I  had 
ever  seen.  There  can  be  no  doubt  it  is  the  effect  of  a  cause 
which,  perhaps,  was  waves  of  the  atmosphere  loaded  with 
vapours,  though  not  perceptible  to  the  eye,  between  the 
beholder  and  the  objects  on  which  the  mirage  acts,  with  the 
Sun  in  a  certain  position,  when  the  objects  were  seen  on  the 
ridge  of  the  wave,  it  gave  them  their  elevation  ;  when  in 
the  hollow  of  the  wave,  their  greatest  depression  ;  and  viewed 
obHquely  to  the  direction  of  the  wave,  the  objects  appeared 
to  change  places.  There  may  be  a  better  theory  to  account 
for  the  Mirage. 

While  the  Mirage  is  in  fuU  action,  the  scenery  is  so  clear 
and  vivid,  the  illusion  so  strong,  as  to  perplex  the  Hunter 
and  the  Traveller ;  it  appears  more  like  the  power  of  magic, 
than  the  play  of  nature. 

When  enquiring  of  the  Natives  what  they  thought  of  it, 


122      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

they  said  it  was  Manito  Korso ;  the  work  of  a  Manito ;  and 
with  this  argument  they  account  for  every  thing  that  is 
uncommon. 

Although  the  cHmate  and  country  of  which  I  am  writing 
is  far  better  than  that  of  Hudson's  Bay,  yet  the  climate  is 
severe  in  Winter  the  Thermometer  often  from  thirty  to  forty 
degrees  below  Zero.  The  month  of  December  is  the  coldest ; 
the  long  absence  of  the  Sun  gives  full  effect  to  the  action  of 
the  cold  ;  the  Snow  increases  in  depth,  it  may  be  said  to  fall 
as  dry  as  dust ;  the  ice  rapidly  increases  in  thickness,  and  the 
steady  cold  of  the  rest  of  winter  adds  but  little  to  that  of  the 
end  of  this  month ;  but  it's  contraction  by  intense  cold, 
causes  the  ice  to  rend  in  many  places  with  a  loud  rumbHng 
noise,  and  through  these  rents,  water  is  often  thrown  out, 
and  flows  over  part  of  the  ice,  making  bad  walking.  This 
month  has  very  variable  weather,  sometimes  a  calm  of  several 
days,  then  Gales  of  wind  with  light  snow,  which  from  it's 
Hghtness  is  driven  about  Hke  dust.  This  dull  month  of  long 
nights  we  wish  to  pass  away ;  the  country  affords  no  tallow 
for  candles ;  nor  fish  oil  for  lamps ;  the  light  of  the  fire  is 
what  we  have  to  work  and  read  by.  Christmas  when  it  comes 
finds  us  glad  to  see  it  and  pass ;  we  have  nothing  to  welcome 
it  with.  In  one  of  the  calms  of  this  month  Tapahpahtum,  a 
good  hunter  came  to  us  for  some  provisions  and  fish  hooks, 
he  said  his  three  wives  and  his  children  had  had  very  little 
to  eat  for  nearly  a  whole  Moon  adding  you  may  be  sure  that 
we  suffer  hunger  when  I  come  to  beg  fish,  and  get  hooks 
for  my  women  to  angle  with.  He  took  away  about  thirty 
pounds  of  fish,  which  he  had  to  carry  about  twenty  miles  to 
his  tent.  I  felt  for  him,  for  nothing  but  sad  necessity  can 
compel  a  Nahathaway  hunter  to  carry  away  fish,  and  angle 
for  them,  this  is  too  mean  for  a  hunter  ;  meat  he  carries  with 
pleasure,  but  fish  is  degradation.  The  calm  still  continued ; 
and  two  days  after  Tapapahtum  came  in  the  evening ;  he 
looked  somewhat  wild  ;    he  was  a  powerful  man  of  strong 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     123 

passions ;  as  usual  I  gave  him  a  bit  of  Tobacco,  he  sat  down 
and  smoked,  inhaling  the  smoke  as  if  he  would  have  drawn 
the  tobacco  through  the  pipe  stem  ;  then  saying,  now  I  have 
smoked,  I  may  speak ;  I  do  not  come  to  you  for  fish,  I  hope 
never  to  disgrace  myself  again ;  I  now  come  for  a  wind 
which  you  must  give  me ;  in  the  mood  he  was  in  to  argue 
with  him  was  of  no  use,  and  I  said,  why  did  you  not  bring 
one  of  your  women  with  you,  she  would  have  taken  some  fish 
to  the  tent ;  "  My  women  are  too  weak,  they  snare  a  hare, 
or  two  every  day,  barely  enough  to  keep  them  ahve.  I  am 
come  for  a  wind  which  you  must  give  me  "  ;  "  You  know  as 
well  as  I  do  that  the  Great  Spirit  alone  is  master  of  the  Winds ; 
you  must  apply  to  him,  and  not  to  me  "  ;  "  Ah,  that  is  always 
your  way  of  talking  to  us,  when  you  will  not  hear  us,  then 
you  talk  to  us  of  the  Great  Spirit.  I  want  a  Wind,  I  must 
have  it,  now  think  on  it,  and  dream,  how  I  am  to  get  it."  I 
lent  him  an  old  Bison  Robe  to  sleep  on  ;  which  was  all  we 
could  spare.  The  next  day  was  calm ;  he  sat  on  the  floor  in 
a  despondent  mood,  at  times  smoking  his  pipe ;  and  saying 
to  me,  "  Be  kind  to  me,  be  kind  to  me,  give  me  a  Wind  that 
we  may  Hve."  I  told  him  the  Good  Spirit  alone  could 
cause  the  wind  to  blow,  and  my  French  Canadians  were  as 
foolish  as  the  poor  Indian ;  saying  to  one  another,  it  would 
be  a  good  thing,  and  well  done,  if  he  got  a  wind  ;  we  should 
get  meat  to  eat.  The  night  was  very  fine  and  clear,  I  passed 
most  of  it  observing  the  Moon  and  Stars  as  usual ;  the  small 
meteors  were  very  numerous,  which  indicated  a  Gale  of 
Wind  ;  the  morning  rose  fine,  and  before  the  appearance  of 
the  Sun,  tho'  calm  with  us,  the  tops  of  the  taU  Pines  were 
waving,  all  foreteUing  a  heavy  gale,  which  usually  follows  a 
long  calm ;  all  this  was  plain  to  every  one ;  Very  early 
Tapahpahtum  said  ;  Be  kind  and  give  me  a  strong  wind ; 
vexed  with  him,  I  told  him  to  go,  and  take  care  that  the 
trees  did  not  fall  upon  him  ;  he  shouted  "  I  have  got  it  "  ; 
sprang  from  the  floor,  snatched  his  gun,  whipt  on  his  Snow 


124      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Shoes,  and  dashed  away  at  five  miles  an  hour ;  the  gale  from 
North  East  came  on  as  usual  with  snow  and  high  drift,  and 
lasted  three  days ;  for  the  two  first  days  we  could  not  visit 
the  nets,  which  sometimes  happens ;  the  third  day  the  drift 
ceased,  but  the  nets  had  been  too  long  in  the  water  without 
being  washed,  and  we  had  to  take  them  up.  On  this  gale  of 
wind,  a  common  occurence,  I  learnt  my  men  were  more 
strangely  foolish  than  the  Indians ;  something  better  than 
two  months  after  this  gale,  I  sent  three  of  the  men  with 
letters  to  an  other  trading  house  and  to  bring  some  articles 
I  wanted ;  here  these  men  related  how  I  had  raised  a  storm 
of  wind  for  the  Indian,  but  had  made  it  so  strong  that  for 
two  days  they  got  no  fish  from  the  nets,  adding,  they  thought 
I  would  take  better  care  another  time.  In  these  distant 
solitudes.  Men's  minds  seem  to  partake  of  the  wildness  of 
the  country  they  live  in.  Four  days  after  Tapahpahtum 
with  one  of  his  women  came,  he  had  killed  three  Moose  Deer, 
of  which  he  gave  us  one,  for  which  I  paid  him  ;  He  was  now 
in  his  calm  senses  :  and  I  reasoned  with  him  on  the  folly  of 
looking  to  any  one,  to  get  what  the  Good  Spirit  alone  could 
give,  and  that  it  made  us  all  Hable  to  his  anger.  He  said  I 
believe  it,  I  know  it,  I  spent  the  autumn  and  the  early  part 
of  the  winter  working  on  Beaver  Houses,  it  is  hard  work, 
and  only  gives  meat  while  we  are  working  ;  When  the  Snow 
was  well  on  the  ground  I  left  off  to  hunt  Moose  Deer,  but 
the  winds  were  weak,  and  unsteady ;  my  women  had  to 
snare  hares,  my  little  boy,  with  his  Bow  killed  a  few  grouse, 
which  kept  us  aHve  until  the  long  Calm  came.  I  waited  a 
little,  then  in  the  evening  I  took  my  Rattle  and  tambour 
and  sung  to  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  Manito  of  the  Winds ; 
the  next  morning  I  did  the  same,  and  took  out  of  my  medicine 
bag,  sweet  smeUing  herbs  and  laid  them  on  a  small  fire  to 
the  Manito.  I  smoked  and  sung  to  him  for  a  wind,  but  he 
shut  his  ears  and  would  not  listen  to  me  :  for  three  days  I 
did  the  same  ;    but  he  kept  his  ears  shut.     I  became  afraid 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     125 

that  he  was  angry  with  me ;  I  left  my  tent  and  came  to  you, 
my  head  was  not  right ;  what  you  gave  me  was  a  relief  for 
my  women  and  children,  I  again  sung,  but  the  wind  did  not 
blow,  he  would  not  hear  me,  my  heart  was  sore,  and  I  came 
to  you,  in  hopes  that  you  had  power  over  the  winds ;  for  we 
all  believe  the  Great  Spirit  speaks  to  you  in  the  night,  when 
you  are  looking  at  the  Moon  and  Stars,  and  tells  you  of  what 
we  know  nothing.  It  seems  a  natural  weakness  of  the  human 
mind  when  in  distress,  to  hope  from  others,  equally  helpless, 
when  we  have  lost  confidence  in  ourselves.  Wiskahoo  was 
naturally  a  cheerful,  good  natured,  careless  man,  but  hard 
times  had  changed  him.  He  was  a  good  Beaver  worker  and 
trapper,  but  an  indifferent  Moose  Hunter,  now  and  then 
killed  one  by  chance,  he  had  been  twice  so  reduced  by  hunger, 
as  to  be  twice  on  the  point  of  eating  one  of  his  children  to 
save  the  others,  when  he  was  fortunately  found  and  relieved 
by  the  other  Natives ;  these  sufferings  had,  at  times,  unhinged 
his  mind,  and  made  him  dread  being  alone,  he  had  for  about 
a  month,  been  working  Beaver,  and  had  now  joined  Tapap- 
pahtum  ;  and  their  Tents  were  together  ;  he  came  to  trade, 
and  brought  some  meat  the  other  had  sent.  It  is  usual  when 
the  Natives  come  to  trade  to  give  them  a  pint  of  grog  ;  a 
liquor  which  I  always  used  very  sparingly ;  it  was  a  bad 
custom,  but  could  not  be  broken  off  :  Wiskahoo  as  soon  as 
he  got  it,  and  while  drinking  of  it,  used  to  say  in  a  thoughtful 
mood  "  Nee  weet  to  go  "  "  I  must  be  a  Man  eater."  This 
word  seemed  to  imply  "  I  am  possessed  of  an  evil  spirit  to 
eat  human  flesh  "  ;  "  Wee  tee  go  "  is  the  evil  Spirit,  that 
devours  humankind.  When  he  had  said  this  a  few  times, 
one  of  the  Men  used  to  tie  him  sHghtly,  and  he  soon  became 
quiet ;  these  sad  thoughts  at  times  came  upon  him,  from  the 
dreadful  distress  he  had  suffered  ;  and  at  times  took  him  in 
his  tent,  when  he  always  allowed  himself  to  be  tied  during 
this  sad  mood,  which  did  not  last  long. 

Three  years  afterwards  this  sad  mood  came  upon  him  so 


126      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

often,  that  the  Natives  got  alarmed.  They  shot  him,  and 
burnt  his  body  to  ashes,  to  prevent  his  ghost  remaining  in 
this  world.  Apistawahshish  (the  Dwarf)  was  of  low  stature, 
but  strongly  made  and  very  active,  a  good  Beaver  worker, 
and  a  second  rate  hunter  of  Moose  deer ;  he  was  careful  and 
industrious ;  When  the  leaves  of  the  trees  had  fallen,  and 
winter  was  coming  on,  he  had  parted  from  the  others  to 
work  Beaver  ;  at  first  he  was  successful ;  but  the  third  house 
he  attacked,  the  beaver  had  worked  many  stones  into  it,  [so] 
that  he  broke  his  ice  chissel  and  blunted  one  of  his  axes  useless  ; 
the  other  was  aU  they  had  to  cut  fire  wood  ;  the  edges  of  the 
Lakes  were  frozen  over  and  canoes  could  not  be  used.  Dis- 
tressing times  came,  and  they  were  reduced  to  use  as  food 
the  youngest  child  to  save  the  others.  They  were  so  weak 
they  could  barely  get  a  little  wood  for  the  fire ;  sitting  in 
sorrow  and  despair  looking  at  the  child  next  to  lose  it's 
life,  a  Rein  Deer  came  and  stood  a  few  yards  from  the 
tent  door ;  he  shot  it  and  [it]  became  the  means  of  saving 
them,  and  recovering  their  strength ;  and  for  the  winter 
he  was  a  fortunate  hunter.  Both  himself,  his  family,  and 
the  Natives  believed  that  this  Deer  was  sent  by  the  Manito 
in  pity  to  himself  and  family ;  he  kept  the  skin,  which 
I  saw. 

The  Indians  did  not  hold  him  culpable,  they  felt  they 
were  all  Hable  to  the  same  sad  affliction  ;  and  the  Manito 
sending  him  a  Deer,  showed  a  mark  of  favor.  As  the  strong 
affections  of  an  Indian  is  centered  in  his  children,  for  they 
may  be  said  to  be  all  he  has  to  depend  upon,  they  beHeve 
the  dreadful  distressed  state  of  mind  which  necessity  forces 
on  them  to  take  the  life  of  one  of  their  children  to  preserve 
the  others,  leaves  such  sad  indelible  impressions  that  the 
parents  are  never  again  the  same  [as]  they  were  before,  and 
are  Hable  to  aberrations  of  mind.  It  is  only  on  this  Region 
and  the  Lakes  westward  to  near  the  great  plains,  where  there 
are  Horses,  that  the  Natives  are  subject  to  this  distress  of 


LIFE   AMONG   THE   NAHATHAWAYS     127 

hunger,  their  Dogs  are  starved  and  do  them  very  little  good. 
If  the  country  contained  but  half  the  Deer  and  other  animals 
some  writers  speak  of,  the  Natives  would  not  suffer  as  they 
do.  Notwithstanding  the  hardships  the  Natives  sometimes 
suffer,  they  are  strongly  attached  to  the  country  of  Rivers, 
Lakes,  and  Forests. 


CHAPTER    VII 

CHEPAWYANS 

Dinnae  or  Che-pazvyans — Origin  of  Name — Character — Hard 
lot  of  Women — Religion — Tradition  as  to  Creation  of  Man- 
kind— Morals — Migration. 

HITHERTO  my  remarks  have  been  on  that  portion 
of  the  great  Stoney  Region  hunted  on  by  the 
Nahathaway  Indians ;  the  northern  portion  of  this 
region,  interior  and  north  of  Hudson's  Bay  to  far  westward 
is  hunted  upon,  and  claimed  by  a  distinct  race  of  Indians, 
whom,  however  dispersed,  claim  their  origen  and  country  to 
be,  from  ChurchiU  River  ^  at  it's  sortie  into  the  sea  ;  and  since 
the  building  of  the  Stone  Fort,  they  call  the  place  by  the 
name  of  the  Stone  House.^  Their  Native  name,  by  which 
they  distinguish  themselves,  is  "  Dinnae,"  to  some  hunting 
on  a  particular  tract  of  country,  an  adjective  is  added.  "  Tza 
Dinnae  "  :  Beaver  Dinnae.  Their  southern  neighbours,  the 
Nahathaway's  caU  them  "  Chepawyans  "  (pointed  skins),  from 
the  form  in  which  they  dry  the  Beaver  skins.  By  the 
Hudson's  Bay  traders  [they  are  called]  "  Northern  Indians." 

^  The  Churchill  river  is  known  to  the  Chipewyan  Indians  as  the 
Tzan-d^z^  or  Metal  river,  possibly  on  account  of  the  quantity  of  iron 
and  copper  derived  by  them  from  a  ship  called  Enhiorningen,  which  was 
left  there  by  Jens  Munck,  after  he  had  wintered  in  the  harbour  in  the 
winter  of  i6ig-2o,  when  all  but  two  of  his  men  died  of  scurvy. 

2  Fort  Prince  of  Wales.  For  an  account  of  this  "  Stone  Fort,"  see 
Samuel  Hearne,  A  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales's  Fort  in  Hudson's  Bay 
to  the  Northern  Ocean,  edited  by  J.  B.  Tyrrell,  pp.  21-2. 


CHEPAWYANS  129 

Their  physiognomy  is  of  an  oval  form,  the  skull  convex,  the 
chin  pointed,  the  cheek  bones  raised,  the  nose  prominent  and 
sharp,  the  eyes  black  and  small,  forehead  high,  mouth  and 
teeth  good,  hair  black,  long  and  lank,  and  of  the  men  coarse. 
The  countenance,  though  not  handsome  is  manly ;  [they  are] 
tall  in  stature,  of  spare  make,  but  capable  of  great  fatigue ; 
they  are  a  peaceable  people,  abhoring  blood  shed ;  The 
Nahathaways  look  on  them  with  a  sort  of  contempt,  being 
themselves  too  much  inclined  to  war,  they  consider  the 
Hunter  to  be  naturally  a  Warrior;  The  Dinnae  themselves 
give  some  occasion  for  this,  in  imitating  what  ceremonies 
they  learn  from  them  ;  yet  treating  their  women  like  slaves, 
a  conduct  which  the  Nahathaways  detest ;  When  quarrelling 
the  Dinnae  never  resort  to  Arms  but  settle  the  affair  by 
wrestling,  pulling  hair,  and  twisting  each  other's  necks. 
Although  to  their  neighbours  they  are  open  to  ridicule,  yet 
not  so  to  the  white  people,  who  encourage  their  peaceable 
habits,  and  themselves  justly  remark  that  a  fine  country,  and 
plenty  to  eat,  may  encourage  people  to  go  to  war  on  each 
other ;  but  the  fatigue  they  go  through  in  hunting  make 
them  glad  to  rest  at  night.  Although  they  often  suffer 
hunger,  yet  the  steady  frugality  they  strictly  observe, 
never  allows  distress  to  come  on  their  famiHes.  Then- 
country  has  very  large,  and  many  lesser  Lakes.  When  the 
land  is  scarce  of  Deer,  or  long  calms  come  on,  they  take  to 
the  Lakes  to  angle  Trout  or  Pike  at  which  they  are  very 
expert,  and  although  they  use  our  hooks ;  for  large  fish 
prefer  their  own,  which  are  of  bone,  and  a  fish  caught  with 
their  bone  hook  does  not  get  loose,  as  sometimes  happens  to 
our  hooks  :  Whether  fish  or  meat,  whatever  is  not  required 
is  carefully  put  by  for  next  meal.  They  carefuUy  collect 
every  article  that  can  be  of  use  to  them ;  and  when  they 
remove,  which  they  very  often  do,  from  place  to  place  the 
women  are  very  heavily  loaded ;  the  men  with  little  else 
than  their  gun  and  their  fishing  tackle,  even  a  girl  of  eight 


130      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

years  will  have  her  share  to  carry ;  while  the  Boys  have  some 
trifle,  or  only  their  Bows  and  Arrows.  This  hard  usage 
makes  women  scarce  among  them,  and  by  the  time  a  girl  is 
twelve  years  of  age,  she  is  given  as  a  Wife  to  a  man  of  twice 
her  age,  for  the  young  men  cannot  readily  obtain  a  wife, 
and  on  this  account  Polygamy  is  rare  among  them.  The 
hardships  the  Women  suffer,  induces  them,  too  often  to  let 
the  female  infants  die,  as  soon  as  born  ;  and  [they]  look  upon 
it  as  an  act  of  kindness  to  them.  And  when  any  of  us  spoke 
to  a  woman  who  had  thus  acted  ;  the  common  answer  was  : 
"  She  wished  her  mother  had  done  the  same  to  herself." 
Upon  reasoning  with  the  Men,  on  the  severe  laborious  Hfe  of 
the  women,  and  the  early  deaths  it  occasioned  ;  and  that  it 
was  a  disgrace  to  them  ;  and  how  very  different  the  Nahath- 
aways  treated  their  women ;  they  always  intimated,  they 
were  an  inferior  order  of  mankind,  made  for  the  use  of  the 
Men  ;  the  Nahathaways  were  a  different  people  from,  and 
they  were  not  guided  by,  them  ;  and  I  found  they  v/ere  too 
often  regarded  as  the  property  of  the  strongest  Man  ;  until 
they  have  one  or  more  children  ;  I  have  been  alone  with  them 
for  months,  and  always  found  them  a  kind  good  people,  but 
their  treatment  of  the  Women  always  made  me  regard  them 
as  an  unmanly  race  of  Men.  Whether  in  distress,  or  in 
plenty,  or  in  whatever  state  they  may  be  I  never  saw  any 
act  of  a  religious  tendency  ;  they  make  no  feasts,  have  no 
dances,  nor  thanksgivings ;  they  appear  to  think  every  thing 
depends  on  their  own  abilities  and  industry,  and  have  no 
belief  in  the  greater  part  of  the  religious  opinions  of  the 
Nahathaways ;  from  the  regular  migrations  of  the  water  fowl 
and  the  rein  deer,  they  infer  something  of  a  Manito  takes 
care  of  them,  but  neither  does,  nor  can,  prevent  their  kilHng 
them  ;  they  believe  in  a  future  state,  and  that  it  is  much  the 
same  as  in  this  hfe ;  they  appear  to  have  no  high  ideas  of  it, 
but  somewhat  better  than  the  present ;  they  dread  death  as 
a  great  evil,  but  meet  it  with  calmness  and  fortitude  ;    the 


CHEPAWYANS  131 

wife  of  the  deceased  must  mourn  his  loss  for  a  year,  her  hair 
which  is  cut  off  and  placed  beside  him  when  dead,  is  now 
allowed  to  grow,  and  she  may  become  a  Wife,  but  there  is 
no  restraint  on  the  Men  at  the  death  of  their  wives ;  they 
take  a  wife  as  soon  as  they  can,  and  seldom  allow  a  Widow 
woman  to  pass  a  year  of  mourning  :  They  do  not  bury  their 
dead,  but  leave  them  to  be  devoured  ;  this  they  might  easily 
prevent  by  covering  them  with  wood,  or  stones  :  which  is 
sometimes  done,  and  sometimes  the  dead  is  placed  on  a 
scaffold,  but  these  instances  are  very  rare ;  Some  of  them 
have  an  ancient  tradition  that  a  Great  Spirit  descended  on  a 
rock,  took  a  Dog,  tore  it  to  small  pieces  and  scattered  it,  that 
these  pieces  each  become  a  Man,  or  a  Woman,  and  that  these 
Men  and  Women  are  their  original  parents,  from  whom  they 
have  all  come ;  and  thus  the  Dog  is  their  common  origin ; 
On  this  account  they  have  very  few  dogs ;  frequently  several 
tents  have  not  a  Dog  among  them  ;  and  they  abhor  the 
Dog  Feasts  of  the  Nahathaway's  and  of  the  French  Canadians  ; 
the  latter  regard  a  fat  dog  as  a  luxury,  equal  to  a  fat  pig  : 
Their  morals  are  as  good  as  can  be  expected,  they  exact 
chastity  from  their  wives  and  seem  to  practise  it  themselves ; 
they  are  strictly  honest ;  and  detest  a  thief ;  and  are  as  charit- 
able and  humane  to  those  in  want,  as  circumstances  will  allow 
them.  When  the  martial  Tribes  ^  by  right  of  conquest  over 
the  Snake  Indians,  took  possession  of  the  Great  Plains  the 
Nahathaways  occupied  the  lands  thus  left ;  and  from  the 
rigorous  clime  of  sixty  one  degrees  north,  went  southward  to 
fifty  six  degrees  north ;    the  Dinnae,  or  Chepawyans,  in  Hke 

1  The  martial  tribes  here  spoken  of  are  probably  the  Blackfeet,  Bloods, 
and  Piegan,  though  I  do  not  know  of  any  evidence  to  show  that  they  ever 
occupied  the  wooded  country  north  of  the  Saskatchewan  river  as  here 
indicated  by  Thompson.  The  Chipewyans,  however,  have  continued  to 
move  southward  even  in  historic  times,  for  about  the  time  Thompson 
first  reached  Churchill  they  occupied  the  Barren  Lands  west  of  Hudson 
Bay  as  far  north  as  Chesterfield  Inlet,  while  at  the  present  time  they  have 
retired  southward  to  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  their  old  haunts  along  the 
Kazan  river  are  occupied  by  Eskimo. 


132     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

manner  occupied  the  country  down  to  the  last  named  Lati- 
tude, and  westward  by  the  Peace  River  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains ;  and  have  thus  quietly  extended  themselves  from 
the  arctic  regions  to  their  present  boundary,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  press  to  the  southward  as  far  as  the  Nahathaways 
will  permit. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

TRIP   TO    LAKE   ATHABASCA 

Receive  permission  to  explore  the  unknown  country  to  the  North- 
westward— Fairford  House — Want  of  Men — Two  Chepa- 
wyan  Companions — The  start — Rein  Deer  River — Rein 
Deer  Lake — Trading  Post — Manito  Lake — Two  Outlets — 
Character  of  Shores  of  Manito  Lake — Black  River — 
Hatchet  Lake — Manito  Falls — Second  Black  Falls — Atha- 
basca Lake — Hardships  of  the  trip — Wreck — Destitute 
condition — Safe  at  last — Reach  Fairford  House. 

HAVING  now  given  a  sketch  of  the  people  among 
whom  I  am  about  to  travel ;  I  have  to  return  back 
a  few  years  from  my  wintering  place  in  Reed  Lake, 
where  I  brought  together  that  part  of  the  Great  Stony  Region, 
and  now  enter  on  the  northern  part  of  this  Region  hunted 
on  by  the  Natives  I  have  described. 

Having  requested  permission  of  M"^  Joseph  Colen,  the 
Resident  at  York  Factory,  to  explore  the  country  north 
westward  from  the  junction  of  the  Rein  Deer's  River  with 
the  Missinippe  (Great  Waters)  to  the  east  end  of  the  Atha- 
basca Lake  a  country  then  wholly  unknown,^  I  proceeded  to 
Fairford  House,^  for  we  must  give  titles  to  our  Log  Huts, 

*  The  journey  here  described  had  a  larger  significance  than  that  here 
given  to  it  by  Thompson,  for  it  was  part  of  a  scheme  which  he  had  been 
urging  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for  some  years  to  push  westward 
and  participate  with  the  North-West  Company  in  the  trade  of  the  Mac- 
kenzie river  valley.     See  Introduction,  pp.  xxxiv.-xxxix. 

*  Fairford  House  was  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Churchill  (or  Mis- 
sinipi)  river,  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  Reindeer  (or  Deer)  river,  in 
latitude  53*  33'  28"  N.,  longitude  103°  12'  W,  It  was  built  by  Malcolm 
Ross  in  Tygs,  but  seems  to  have  been  abandoned  in  1796  in  favour  of 

133 


134     DAVID    THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

where  M"^  Malcolm  Ross  ^  had  wintered,  but  not  a  single  man 
could  be  spared  from  the  trade  in  furrs  to  accompany  me, 
and  with  great  difficulty  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  then 
procured  Men  to  keep  up  the  few  interior  Trading  Houses 
they  then  had  ;  for  the  War  which  raged  between  England 
and  France  drained  the  Orkney  Islands  of  all  the  Men,  that 
were  fit  for  the  Navy,  or  the  Army  ;  and  only  those  refused 
were  obtained  for  the  furr  trade  :  There  is  always  a  Canoe 
with  three  steady  men  and  a  native  woman  waiting  the 
arrival  of  the  annual  Ship  from  England  to  carry  the  Letters 
and  Instructions  of  the  Company  to  the  interior  country 
trading  houses  ;  but  very  few  men  came  out  with  her  for  the 
trade,  and  those  few  were  only  five  feet  five  inches  and  under  ; 
a  M"  James  Spence  was  in  charge  of  the  Canoe,  and  his  Indian 

Bedford  House  on  the  west  side  of  Reindeer  lake.  It  was  doubtless 
named  after  the  village  of  Fairford  in  Gloucestershire,  though  on  whose 
account  is  not  known. 

1  Malcolm  Ross  was  a  Scotsman  who  had  entered  the  service  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  had  been  among  those  first  sent  inland  to 
the  Saskatchewan  valley.  After  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  been 
sending  parties  and  supplies  inland  from  York  Factory  for  a  number  of 
years  it  became  anxious  to  learn  if  a  route  could  be  opened  up  from 
Churchill  directly  up  the  Churchill  river  to  its  central  trading  post  at 
Cumberland  House,  and  in  1786  Ross  was  sent  from  Churchill  to  try 
to  discover  such  a  route.  He  succeeded  in  accomplishing  the  journey, 
probably  by  the  Little  Churchill  river,  Split  lake,  and  Grass  river,  but 
reported  that  it  was  an  exceedingly  difficult  one  of  no  commercial  value. 
The  following  year  he  returned  to  York,  and,  when  a  couple  of  years  later 
the  Company  wished  to  send  Philip  Turnor  westward  as  far  as  Lake 
Athabaska  to  make  a  survey  of  that  lake  and  determine  its  position, 
Ross  was  sent  with  him  to  look  after  his  supplies.  From  that  time  on- 
ward Ross's  great  object  appears  to  have  been  to  induce  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  go  into  the  Athabaska  country  and  establish  trading 
posts  there,  but  in  this  he  was  not  successful.  In  1798  he  visited  England, 
probably  with  the  object  of  urging  on  the  directors  of  the  Company 
more  active  measures  for  securing  the  Athabaska  trade,  and  the  following 
year  he  returned  to  the  western  country,  but  shortly  after  his  arrival  in 
Hudson  Bay  he  died  at  Churchill.  It  was  not  until  three  years  after  his 
death,  in  1802,  that  Peter  Fidler  was  able  to  establish  the  first  trading 
post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  Lake  Athabaska,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Fort  Chipewyan. 


TRIP  TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  135 

wife  looking  steadily  at  the  Men,  and  then  at  her  husband ; 
at  length  said,  James  have  you  not  always  told  me,  that  the 
people  in  your  country  are  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  on  the 
trees,  how  can  you  speak  such  a  falsehood,  do  not  we  all  see 
plainly  that  the  very  last  of  them  is  come,  if  there  were  any 
more  would  these  dwarfs  have  come  here.  This  appeared  a 
home  truth,  and  James  Spence  had  to  be  silent.  Finding 
that  I  could  have  no  white  man  to  accompany  me  somewhat 
damped  my  ardor,  but  my  curiosity  to  see  unknown  countries 
prevailed,  and  a  few  Chepawyans  happening  to  be  there ; 
and  had  traded  their  few  furrs  I  engaged  two  young  men  of 
them  to  accompany  me ;  both  of  them  had  hunted  for  two 
winters  over  the  country  we  were  to  explore,  but  had  never 
been  on  the  Rivers  and  Lakes  in  summer.  Their  only  practice 
in  canoes  had  been,  on  a  calm  day  to  watch  for  the  Deer 
taking  refuge  in  the  Lakes  from  the  flies,  and  for  Otters  and 
Fowls,  which  gave  them  no  experience  of  the  currents  and 
rapids  of  Rivers ;  yet  such  as  they  were,  I  was  obhged  to 
take  them  ;  they  were  both  unmarried  young  men  ;  One  of 
them  named  Kozdaw,^  was  of  a  powerful,  active,  make ;  gay, 
thoughtless,  and  ready  for  every  kind  of  service :  would 
cHmb  the  trees,  and  brave  the  Eagles  in  their  nests  :  yet 
under  aU  this  wildness  was  a  kind  and  faithful  heart.  The 
other  from  his  hard  name,  which  I  could  not  pronounce,  I 
named  Paddy,  he  was  of  a  slender  form,  thoughtful,  of  a  mild 
disposition  ;  As  nothing  whatever  was  ready  for  us,  we  had 
to  go  into  the  Forests  for  all  the  materials  to  make  a  Canoe ; 
of  seventeen  feet  in  length  by  thirty  inches  on  the  middle  bar. 
This  House  though  well  situated  for  trade ;  had  but  a 
poor  fishery  with  three  Nets,  each  of  fifty  fathoms  in  length, 
we  could  barely  maintain  ourselves,  the  fish  caught  were 
White  Fish,  Pike  and  Carp,  with  a  few  Pickerel,  none  of 

^  When  I  surveyed  the  Black  river  in  the  summer  of  1892,  I  gave  the 
name  of  this  Indian  companion  of  Thompson  to  one  of  the  smaller  lakes 
on  the  stream. 


136      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

them  very  good.  Fairford  House  is  in  Latitude  55°-  33'-  28" 
North,  and  Longitude  103°.  9'.  52"  West  of  Greenwich,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Missinippe  (Great  Waters)^  so  called  from 
the  spreading  of  it's  waters.  It's  southern  head  is  the  Beaver 
River  from  the  Beaver  Lake  not  far  from  the  east  foot  of  the 
Mountains,  which,  on  entering  the  chain  of  Lakes,  and  the 
land  of  Rocks,  spreads  into  very  irregular  forms  of  Lakes, 
which  at  distances  are  crossed  by  Dams  of  rock,  and  by 
channels  falls  into  the  same  rude  Lakes,  to  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  Churchill  Factory,  having  for  this  last  distance,  the 
regular  form  of  a  River  with  many  Rapids  and  Falls  to  within 
about  ten  miles  of  the  sea  where  it  meets  the  tide  waters. 
The  whole  of  the  above  distance  from  the  valley  of  the  chain 
of  Lakes  to  the  sea,  is  a  poor  country  for  Deer  and  the  furr 
bearing  animals ;  and  also  for  fish ;  There  are  some  very 
good  fisheries,  but  they  are  in  the  deep  Lakes  of  this  Region 
wholly  independent  of  the  Missinippe,  though  the  Streams 
from  them  are  discharged  into  it. 

Early  on  the  tenth  day  of  June  1796  we  were  ready,  our 
outfit  consisted  of  one  fowling  gun  ;  forty  balls,  five  pounds  of 
shot,  three  flints  and  five  pounds  of  powder,  one  Net  of 
thirty  fathoms ;  one  small  Axe,  a  small  Tent  of  grey  cotton  ; 
with  a  few  trifles  to  trade  provisions,  as  beads,  brass  rings 
and  awls,  of  which  we  had  little  hopes ;  our  chief  dependence 
next  to  good  Providence,  was  on  our  Net  and  Gun. 

The  sortie  of  the  Rein  Deer's  River ;  ^  which  is  the  great 

^  Thompson  constantly  used  the  name  Missinipi  for  the  river  now 
known  throughout  most  of  its  length  as  the  Churchill,  though  the  longest 
of  its  upper  branches  is  still  known  as  Beaver  river.  In  1 798  he  surveyed 
this  river  to  its  source  near  Lake  La  Biche  (or  Red  Deer  lake),  where  he 
built  a  trading  post  and  spent  the  winter. 

*  Reindeer  river  is  a  beautiful  clear  stream  draining  the  waters  of 
Reindeer  lake  southward  into  the  Churchill  river.  At  the  confluence 
the  waters  of  the  two  streams  are  very  distinct,  that  of  Reindeer 
river  being  beautifully  clear  and  white  in  contrast  to  the  dark  brownish 
water  of  the  Churchill  river.  The  river  has  a  length  of  seventy  miles, 
in  which  distance  it  is  obstructed  by  four  rapids  over  rocky  barriers  of 
granite. 


TRIP   TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  137 

northern  branch  of  Churchill  River  is  about  one  mile  above 
Fairford  House  ;  and  up  this  stream  we  proceeded  in  a  north 
direction  for  sixty  four  miles  to  the  Rein  Deer's  Lake ; 
Lat'''=  56  .  20  .  22  Long'**  103  .  18  .  47.  The  River  is  a  fine  deep 
stream,  of  about  three  hundred  yards  in  width,  having  five 
falls  and  the  same  number  of  Carrying  Places ;  the  FaUs 
have  a  descent  of  four  to  fourteen  feet,  with  only  one  rapid. 
It's  current  is  moderate  from  one  to  two  miles  p""  hour,  and 
forms  several  small  Lakes.  The  banks  are  of  sloping  high 
rocks,  with  several  sandy  bays  ;  the  woods  of  small  Birch, 
Aspin,  and  Pines,  growing  on  the  rocks  with  very  little  soil ; 
in  many  places  none  whatever  :  the  Trees  supported  each 
other  by  the  roots  being  interlaced  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  Trees  are  supported  on  the  frozen  lands  of  Hudson's 
Bay  which  never  thaw  ;  and  both  are  kept  moist  in  summer  by 
being  covered  with  wet  moss. 

The  Natives  are  frequently  very  careless  in  putting  out 
the  fires  they  make,  and  a  high  wind  kindles  it  among  the 
Pines  always  ready  to  catch  fire  ;  and  [they]  burn  until  stopped 
by  some  large  swamp  or  lake ;  which  makes  many  miles  of 
the  country  appear  very  unsightly,  and  destroys  many  animals 
and  birds  especially  the  grouse,  who  do  not  appear  to  know 
how  to  save  themselves,  but  all  this  devastation  is  nothing 
to  the  Indian,  his  country  is  large. 

We  proceeded  along  the  west  side  of  the  Lake,  in  a  direc- 
tion of  due  North,  for  one  hundred  and  eight  miles  to  a  Point 
of  tolerable  good  Pines,  the  best  we  had  seen,  and  on  which, 
late  in  Autumn  we  built  a  trading  House.  Latitude  57  .  23  .  N. 
Longitude  102  .  59  W. 

The  whole  distance  we  have  passed  has  a  rocky  barren 
appearance  ;  the  woods  small  and  stunted  ;  in  several  places 
the  fire  had  passed.  In  the  above  distance  the  Paint  River 
falls  in,  a  considerable  stream  from  the  westward  ;  and  also 
a  few  Brooks.  The  water  is  clear  and  deep,  and  the  Lake 
is  studded  with  Islands  of  rock,  and  dwarf  Pines  cover  them. 


138      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

We  proceeded  up  the  Rivulet  which  we  found  shoal, 
with  many  rapids,  and  soon  led  us  to  Ponds  and  Brooks, 
with  several  Carrying  Places,  which  connected  them  together 
for  fifty  miles,  the  last  of  which  placed  us  on  the  banks  of  the 
Manito  Lake.  Latitude  57.47.38  N.  Longitude  103. 17.12  W. 
The  whole  of  this  route  can  be  passed  in  the  open  season 
only  by  small  Canoes ;  the  country  as  usual  poor  and  rocky  ; 
Hitherto  we  had  not  met  with  a  single  Native,  and  our  Gun 
and  Net  gave  us  but  short  allowance ;  This  Route  is  practised 
by  the  Natives  to  avoid  the  great  length  of  the  Rein  Deer's 
and  Manito  Lakes,  and  the  crossing  of  the  great  Bays  of  these 
Lakes,  which  would  be  dangerous  to  their  small  Canoes. 
This  great  Lake  is  called  Manito^  (supernatural)  from  it's 
sending  out  two  Rivers,  each  in  a  different  direction  ;  from 
it's  east  side  a  bold  Stream  runs  southward  and  enters  the 
Rein  Deers  Lake  on  it's  east  side ;  and  from  the  west  side  of 
the  Manito  Lake,  it  sends  out  the  Black  River,  which  runs 
westward  into  the  east  end  of  the  Athabasca  Lake ;  which 
is  perhaps  without  a  parallel  in  the  world.  Some  have  argued 
that  such  a  Lake  must  soon  be  drained  of  its  water ;  they 
forget  that  it  is  the  quantity  of  water  that  runs  off,  that 
drains  a  Lake ;  and  were  the  two  Rivers  that  now  flow  in 
opposite  directions  made  to  be  one  River  in  a  single  direction, 
the  effect  on  the  Lake  would  be  the  same  Add  to  this,  the 
head  of  a  River  flowing  out  of  a  Lake  is  a  kind  of  a  Dam, 
and  can  only  operate  on  the  Lake  in  proportion  to  the  depth 
to   the  bottom ;   which   in  general  is   several  hundred    feet 

*  On  the  present  maps  of  Canada  it  is  Wollaston  lake.  Thompson 
is  quite  correct  in  his  statement  that  this  lake  has  two  outlets,  which  are 
of  about  equal  size,  one  of  which  flows  to  the  Mackenzie  river  and  the 
other  to  the  Churchill.  The  former  he  descended  to  Lake  Athabaska, 
while  the  latter  I  surveyed  in  part  in  1 894  and  named  the  Cochrane  river. 
The  lake  has  an  area  of  900  square  miles,  and  its  water,  like  that  of  Rein- 
deer lake,  is  very  clear  and  pure,  as  there  is  no  soluble  rock  or  mud  on 
its  shores.  The  pines  here  spoken  of,  and  in  fact  throughout  this  narra- 
tive, are  spruce,  either  black  or  white.  Throughout  all  the  northern 
country  spruce  trees  are  still  spoken  of  as  pines. 


TRIP   TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  139 

below  this  bottom  of  the  head  of  the  River ;  and  were  the 
River  to  drain  the  Lake  to  this  level,  the  River  would  cease 
to  flow  but  the  Lake  would  still  contain  a  great  body  of  water. 

The  last  fifty  miles  had  been  over  a  low  rocky,  swampy- 
country,  and  tormented  with  myriads  of  Musketoes ;  we  were 
now  on  the  banks  of  the  Manito  Lake,  all  around  which,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  see,  were  bold  shores,  the  land  rising 
several  hundred  feet  in  bold  swells,  all  crowned  with  Forests 
of  Pines ;  in  the  Lake  were  several  fine  Isles  of  a  rude  conical 
form,  equally  well  clothed  with  Woods.  I  was  highly  pleased 
with  this  grand  scenery ;  but  soon  found  the  apparent  fine 
forests  to  be  an  illusion,  they  were  only  dwarf  Pines  growing 
on  the  rocks  ;  and  held  together  by  their  roots  being  twisted 
with  each  other.  On  our  route,  seeing  a  fine  Isle,  which 
appeared  a  perfect  cone  of  about  sixty  feet  in  height,  appar- 
ently remarkably  well  wooded  to  the  very  top  of  the  cone ; 
I  went  to  it,  my  companions  saying  it  was  lost  time  ;  on 
landing,  we  walked  through  the  apparent  fine  forest,  with  our 
heads  clear  above  aU  the  trees,  the  tallest  only  came  to  our 
chins ;  While  we  were  thus  amusing  ourselves,  the  Wind 
arose  and  detained  us  until  near  sunset.  To  while  away  the 
time,  we  amused  ourselves  with  undoing  the  roots  of  these 
shrub  Pines  for  about  twenty  feet  on  each  side ;  when  the 
whole  sHd  down  the  steep  rock  into  the  Lake,  making  a  float- 
ing Isle  of  an  area  of  four  hundred  feet ;  and  so  well  the 
fibres  of  the  roots  were  bound  together,  that  when  it  came 
to  where  the  waves  were  running  high,  it  held  together,  not 
a  piece  separated  and  thus  [it]  drifted  out  of  our  sight.  We 
set  loose  a  second  islet  of  about  the  same  area ;  then  a  third, 
and  a  fourth  islet,  all  floated  away  in  the  same  manner  :  On 
the  Isle,  the  roots  of  these  small  pines  were  covered  with  a 
compact  moss  of  a  yellow  color,  about  two  inches  thick. 

The  mould  on  the  rock  under  these  pines,  was  very  black 
and  rich,  but  so  scant,  that  had  the  area  of  four  hundred  feet 
been  clean  swept,  it  would  not  have  filled  a  bushel  measure. 


140      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

perhaps  the  produce  of  centuries.     This  Isle  was  a  steep  cone, 
the  sixteen  hundred  square  feet  we  uncovered,  showed  the 
rock  to  be  as  smooth  as  a  file,  and  no  where  rougher  than  a 
rasp ;    and  had  it  been  bare  it  would  have  been  difficult  of 
ascent ;    it  was  about  two  miles  from  other  land  ;    then  how 
came  these  pines  to  grow  upon  it ;    they  bare  no  cones,  nor 
seeds   and   no   birds   feed   on   them ;    These   wild   northern 
countries  produce  questions,  difficult  to  answer. 
t         After  coasting  the  west  side  of  this  Lake  for  Eighty  miles 
Ji/v/e  put  up  on  the  evening  of  the  twenty  third  of  June  at  the 
NC!j>    head  of  the  Black  River ;    which  flows  out  of  this  Lake  and 
0^*1'        finally  discharges   itself  into  the  east  end  of  the  Athabasca 
-  ^  ..■■■..       Lake,  which  I  found  to  be  in  Latitude  50°  .  27' .  55"  North  ; 
and  in  Longitude  103°.  27'.  i''  West  of  Greenwich   Variation 
15°  East.     What  I  afterwards  learned  of  the  Indians  on  the 
geography  of  the  Manito  Lake  confirmed  my  opinions  of  it ; 
By  their  information  this  Lake  is  of  very  great  extent ;    the 
eighty  miles  we  coasted  they  counted  as  nothing ;    they  say 
that  none  of  them  has  seen  its  northern  extent,  and  of  the 
east  side,  except  the  southern  part.     The  deep,  long  rolling 
waves  in  a  gale  of  wind,  equal  to  any  I  have  seen  in  Lake 
Superior,  showed  a  very  deep  Lake  and  that  the  roll  of  the 
waves  came  from  a  great  distance. 

It  was  always  my  intention  to  have  fuUy  surveyed  this 
and  the  Rein  Deer's  Lake,  but  the  sad  misfortune  which 
happened  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Black  River,  made  me 
thankfull  to  save  our  hves.  That  these  countries  are  un- 
known, even  to  the  natives,  can  excite  no  surprise ;  their 
canoes  are  small  and  when  loaded  with  their  Wives,  Children, 
and  Baggage,  are  only  fit  for  calm  water,  which  is  seldom  seen 
on  these  Lakes  ;  The  east  side  of  these  two  Lakes,  have  a 
range  of  full  six  hundred  miles,  on  which  there  are  no  Woods,^ 

*  This  would  appear  to  refer  to  the  Barren  Grounds,  some  distance  to 
the  north  of  Reindeer  and  Manitou  lakes,  rather  than  the  country  to 
the  east  of  them,  for  this  latter  country  is  within  the  forest  area,  and 


TRIP   TO    LAKE   ATHABASCA  141 

all  is  Rock  and  Moss ;  on  these  barren  lands,  in  the  open 
season  the  Rein  Deer  are  numerous  ;  they  have  food  in 
abundance,  and  the  constant  cold  nights  puts  down  the  flies. 

The  Natives,  when  they  hunt  on  the  North  East  parts  of 
the  Rein  Deer's  Lake,  cannot  stay  long  ;  the  Moss,  when 
dry,  makes  a  tolerable  fire ;  but  in  wet  weather,  which  often 
happens,  it  holds  the  rain  hke  a  sponge,  and  cannot  be  made 
to  burn  ;  this  want  of  fire  often  obliges  them  to  eat  the  meat 
raw,  and  also  the  fish ;  the  latter  I  have  seen  them  by 
choice ;  especially  the  pike,  and  a  Trout  is  no  sooner  caught 
than  the  eyes  are  scooped  out  and  swallowed  whole,  as  most 
delicious  morsels. 

Whatever  Deer  they  may  kill,  they  cannot  dry  the  meat ; 
and  as  soon  as  they  have  eaten  plentifully  and  procured  as 
many  skins  as  they  can  carry,  they  leave  these  lands  of  Moss, 
for  those  of  Woods  where  they  can  have  a  comfortable  fire, 
and  get  poles  of  pine  wood  to  pitch  their  Tents  for  shelter. 

The  Natives  told  me,  when  enquiring  of  the  country  to 
the  eastward  of  the  Manito  Lake ;  that  two  of  them  had 
been  two  day's  journey  direct  eastward  of  the  Lake,  and  saw 
nothing  of  woods,  but  everywhere  rock  and  moss,  with  small 
Lakes,  in  which  the  Ducks  were  taking  care  of  their  young, 
and  no  other  animal  than  a  few  herds  of  Rein  Deer,  and  Musk 
Oxen  ;  ^  and  it  seems  such  is  all  the  country  between  these 
great  Lakes  and  Churchill  River  Factory  and  far  to  the 
northward.    The  Rein  Deer's  Lake^  contains  an  area  of  18,400 

though  the  trees  are  mostly  small,  they  are  there  in  greater  or  less 
abundance.  The  east  shore  of  Reindeer  lake,  along  which  I  travelled  in 
1894,  was  found  to  be  all  fairly  well  wooded. 

*  Ovibos  moschatus  (Zimmerman).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Reindeer  lake  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  of  the  many  large 
lakes  of  northern  Canada,  with  its  shores  of  low  rounded  hills  of  granite, 
and  its  many  rocky  islands  rising  out  of  clear  green  water.  It  has  an 
area  of  2,400  square  miles,  a  greatest  length  of  140  miles,  and  a  greatest 
width  of  35  miles,  but  on  account  of  the  irregularity  of  its  shore  line,  and 
the  great  number  of  islands  in  it,  no  large  part  of  the  lake  can  be  seen 
from  any  one  place.  The  water  is  remarkably  pure,  an  analysis  made 
some  years  ago  showing  it  to  be  one  of  the  purest  lake  waters  in  the  world. 


142     DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

square  miles  :  and  the  Manito  Lake  has  an  area  of  not  less 
than  about  30,000  square  miles  :  From  the  head  of  the  Black 
River  to  Churchill  Factory  is  339  statute  miles,  including 
the  width  of  the  Manito  Lake,  which  may  be  reckoned  at 
eighty  miles,  or  more.  It  is  a  pity  the  Hudsons  Bay  Company 
do  not  have  these  countries  explored ;  by  their  charter  they 
hold  these  extensive  countries  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
persons. 

By  civiHsed  men,  especially  those  of  the  United  States, 
who  have  a  mortal  antipathy  to  the  North  American  Indian  ; 
or,  as  he  is  now  called  the,  "  Red  Man  "  ;  it  is  confidently 
predicted,  that  the  Red  Man,  must  soon  cease  to  exist,  and 
give  place  to  the  White  Man ;  this  is  true  of  aU  the  lands 
formerly  possessed  by  the  Red  Man,  that  the  White  Man  has 
thought  it  worth  his  while  to  seize  by  fraud  or  force ;  but 
the  Stony  Region  is  an  immense  extent  of  country,  on  which 
the  White  Man  cannot  live ;  except  by  hunting,  which  he 
will  not  submit  to.  Here  then  is  an  immense  tract  of  country 
which  the  Supreme  Being,  the  Lord  of  the  whole  Earth,  has 
given  to  the  Deer,  and  other  wild  animals ;  and  to  the  Red 
Man  forever,  here,  as  his  fathers  of  many  centuries  past  have 
done,  he  may  roam,  free  as  the  wind ;  but  this  wandering 
life,  and  the  poverty  of  the  country,  prevents  the  labors  of 
the  Missionary  to  teach  them  the  sacred  truths  of  Christianity. 

On  the  25*''  day  of  June  we  descended  the  Black  River  ^ 

1  Black  or  Stone  river  flows  westward  from  Wollaston  lake  into  the 
east  end  of  Lake  Athabaska,  at  first  through  quiet  pools,  then  over  rocky 
granite  ridges,  and  afterwards  over  a  bed  of  rough  boulders  and  pebbles 
of  sandstone,  where  the  water  sometimes  contracts  into  a  narrow  swift 
stream  and  then  spreads  out  and  almost  loses  itself  among  the  stones. 
Such  is  its  character  until  it  flows  into  Black  lake,  but  below  Black  lake 
it  tumbles  in  two  wild  cascades  with  a  combined  height  of  300  feet  to  the 
level  of  Lake  Athabaska.  Past  these  two  falls  the  Indians  from  time 
immemorial  have  had  well  beaten  paths  or  portages,  respectively  two  and 
three  and  a  half  miles  in  length.  As  yet  comparatively  few  white  men 
have  travelled  this  river,  the  list  as  far  as  known  being  as  follows  :  David 
Thompson  (1796)  ;  Peter  Fidler  (1807  ?)  ;  A.  S.  Cochrane  (1881)  ;  J.  B. 
Tyrrell  (1892  and  1893). 


TRIP   TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  143 

for  nine  miles  to  the  Hatchet  Lake.^  The  River  flows  between 
two  hills,  in  a  valley  with  coarse  grass  on  each  side  ;  it  is  about 
twenty  yards  in  width,  and  five  feet  in  depth,  and  moderate 
current.  The  Hatchet  Lake,  has  an  area  of  about  three 
hundred  square  miles,  the  banks  rise  to  about  three  hundred 
feet  apparently  well  wooded  with  Pines,  but  very  few  are 
above  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  full  of  branches.  The  whole 
is  a  wretched  country  of  soHtude,  which  is  broken  only  by 
the  large  GuU  and  the  Loons.  The  first  twelve  miles  of  the 
River  have  several  strong  rapids  and  two  carrying  places,  one 
of  204,  the  other  of  298  yards.  By  observations  the  Lati- 
tude was  58°.  44'.  35"  Longitude  103°.  56'.  28''  West  near 
the  north  end  of  the  Black  Lake,^  which  is  a  small  Lake. 

The  River  had  now  increased  it's  water  by  the  addition 
of  the  Porcupine  and  Trout  Rivers,  and  several  Brooks  ;  it 
had  also  a  greater  descent ;  In  it's  course  of  One  hundred 
and  fifty  three  miles  from  the  above  place  of  observation  in 
the  Black  Lake,  it  meets  with,  and  forms,  many  small  Lakes ; 
and  collects  their  waters  to  form  a  Stream  of  about  one,  to 
two,  hundred  yards  in  width  :  it's  bottom  is  sand  and  pebbles, 
or  rude  stones  and  small  rocks,  smoothed  by  the  water ;  on 
a  bed  of  Limestone,  which  is  the  rock  of  the  country ;  its 
course  is  sinuous,  from  the  many  hills  it  meets,  and  runs 
round  in  it's  passage ;  it's  current  is  strong,  with  many 
rapids,  some  of  them  one  mile  in  length  :  it  has  four  falls. 
Three  of  these  are  about  half  way  down  the  River  ;  the  fourth 
fall  is  the  end  of  a  series  of  rapids,  cutting  through  a  high 
hill ;  at  length  the  banks  become  perpendicular,  and  the 
river  falls  eight  feet,  the  carrying  place  is  six  hundred  yards 
in  length.  For  half  a  mile  further  the  current  is  very  swift ; 
it  is  then  for  one  hundred  and  eighteen  yards,  compressed  in 

^  Hatchet  lake,  probably  so  called  by  Thompson  himself,  is  a  small 
lake  on  the  Black  river  with  an  area  of  about  60  square  miles. 

*  This  is  a  very  small  expansion  of  the  Stone  or  Black  river,  which  is 
now  known  as  Kosdaw  lake. 


144      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

a  narrow  channel  of  rock  of  only  twelve  yards  in  width.  At 
the  end  of  this  channel  a  bold  perpendicular  sided  point  of 
limestone  rock  projects  at  right  angles  to  the  course  of  the 
river,  against  which  the  rapid  current  rushes  and  appears 
driven  back  with  such  force  that  the  whole  river  seems  as  if 
turned  up  from  it's  bottom.  It  boils,  foams  and  every  drop 
is  white ;  part  of  the  water  is  driven  down  a  precipice  of 
twenty  feet  descent ;  the  greater  part  rushes  through  the 
point  of  rock  and  disappears  for  two  hundred  yards ;  then 
issues  out  in  boiHng  whirlpools.  The  dashing  of  the  water 
against  the  rocks,  the  deep  roar  of  the  torrent,  the  hollow 
sound  of  the  fall,  with  the  surrounding  high,  dark  frowning 
hills  form  a  scenery  grand  and  awful,  and  it  is  well  named 
the  Manito  Fall.  While  the  Nahathaways  possessed  the 
country,  they  made  offerings  to  it,  and  thought  it  the  resi- 
dence of  a  Manito ;  they  have  retired  to  milder  cHmates  ; 
and  the  Chepawyans  have  taken  their  place  who  make  no 
offerings  to  anything ;  but  my  companions  were  so  awe 
struck,  that  the  one  gave  a  ring,  and  the  other  a  bit  of 
tobacco.  They  had  heard  of  this  Fall,  but  never  saw  it  before. 
The  second  Black  Lake  ^  is  a  fine  sheet  of  water  it's  length 
about  thirty  miles  in  a  west  direction,  it's  breadth  one  to  six 
miles  ;  in  the  east  end  there  are  five  small  isles  and  a  large 
Island  near  the  north  shore.  The  north  side  of  the  Lake  is  a 
high  hill,  in  some  places  abrupt  cliffs  of  rock ;    the  south  side 

^  This  lake,  which  is  still  known  as  Black  lake,  lies  at  the  junction  of 
the  Stone  river  from  the  east,  the  Cree  river  from  the  south,  and  the 
Chipman  river  from  the  north.  It  has  a  greatest  length  of  41  miles,  a 
greatest  width  of  9  miles,  a  total  area  of  200  square  miles,  and  an  eleva- 
tion of  1000  feet  above  the  sea.  Its  name  seems  to  have  been  given  to 
it  by  David  Thompson,  probably  on  account  of  the  dark  hills  of  Norite 
which  form  its  north-western  shore.  By  the  Chipewyan  Indians  of  Lake 
Athabaska  it  is  called  Dess-da-tara-tua,  or,  "  The  Mouths  of  Three  Rivers 
Lake,"  alluding  to  the  mouths  of  Cree,  Stone,  and  Chipman  rivers, 
which  empty  into  it.  Its  northern  shore  is  steep  and  rocky,  being  com- 
posed of  granite  or  similar  rocks,  while  its  southern  shore  is  low  and  sandy, 
and  a  great  sand  plain  stretches  away  to  the  south  of  it. 


TRIP   TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  145 

is  more  pleasing,  it's  fine  sandy  beaches,  the  banks  with  small 
Aspins  and  Birch  in  full  leaf ;  the  ground  firm  and  dry, 
covered  with  Bear's  Berries,^  the  leaf  of  which  is  mixed  with 
tobacco  for  smoking,  the  interior  rising  by  easy  ascents,  and 
apparently  well  wooded  formed  a  pleasing  landscape  to  us, 
who  had  so  long  been  accustomed  to  rude  scenery ;  it  is  the 
only  place  which  had  an  appearance  of  being  fit  for  cultiva- 
tion ;  but  it  was  appearance  only ;  the  woods  were  small, 
even  the  Pines  rarely  rose  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet ;  and 
the  soil  was  too  sandy.  The  area  of  this  Lake  may  be  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  This  Lake  appears  to  be  the 
principal  haunts  of  the  species  of  Deer  which  I  have  already 
described  ;   and  which  I  beUeve  to  be  yet  a  nondescript. 

The  Nahathaways,  who  pay  great  attention  to  distinguish 
every  species  of  Beast  and  Bird  from  each,  do  not  class  them 
with  the  Rein  Deer,  and  call  them  Mahthe  Moosewah.'^  (the 
Ugly  Moose).  This  is  the  only  Lake  in  which  I  have  seen 
them,  and  the  Natives  say  they  are  not  numerous,  and  are 
confined  to  this  Lake  and  its  environs  ;  A  civiUzed  man  may 
never  travel  this  way  again  ;  there  is  nothing  to  tempt  him ; 
a  rude  barren  country  that  has  neither  provisions  nor  furrs, 
and  there  are  no  woods  of  which  he  could  build  a  warm  hut ; 
and  at  best  his  fuel,  of  which  a  large  quantity  is  required, 
could  be  only  of  small  poles,  which  would  burn  away,  almost 
as  fast  as  he  could  cut  them.  In  the  winter  the  Natives  do 
not  frequent  these  countries  but  hunt  to  the  westward. 

On  the  North  side,  the  Black  River  rushes  through  a 
low  mountain  in  a  long  cataract,  on  the  south  side  is  a  carrying 
place  of  5560  yards  of  open  woods,  the  ground  level  and  sandy, 
from  hence  we  went  three  miles  to  a  heavy  Fall  in  several 
precipices  of  full  forty  feet.  The  carrying  place  is  one  mile 
in  length,  the  banks  high  and  steep,  and  the  path  bad  from 
much  fallen  wood,  and  rocky  ground,  at  the  end  of  which 

*  Arctostaphylos  uva-ursi  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 
2  Probably  a  large  form  of  Woodland  Caribou.     See  note,  p.  102. 

K 


146      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

we  had  to  descend  a  high  steep  bank  of  loose  earth  and 
gravel :  one  fourth  of  a  mile  lower  was  another  fall,  and 
carrying  place  of  half  a  mile,  we  then  proceeded  eight  miles 
to  a  long  heavy  rapid,  six  miles  farther  the  Black  River  enters 
the  east  end  of  the  Athabasca  Lake,^  the  end  of  our  journey 
in  Latitude  50°.  16'.  22"  N.  Longitude  105°.  26'  West  on  the 
2°*^  of  July.  ''''This  great  Lake  had  been  surveyed  by  M' 
Philip  Turnor^  in  1791.  He  had  marked  and  lopped  a  pine 
tree  at  which  we  passed  the  night.     From  the  Manito  to  the 

^  Lake  Athabaska  is  a  long  and  comparatively  narrow  sheet  of  water, 
extending  westward  from  the  mouth  of  Black  river  to  where  the  Atha- 
baska-Mackenzie  river  drains  the  country  towards  the  north.  It  lies  in 
the  bottom  of  a  great  valley  excavated  along  the  line  of  contact  of  the 
Archaean  granites,  etc.,  to  the  north,  and  the  undisturbed  Athabaska 
sandstone  to  the  south.  On  its  south  side  is  a  great  sandy  plain,  rising 
at  its  east  end  to  a  height  of  500  feet  above  the  lake,  and  gradually  sloping 
westward  towards  the  Athabaska-Mackenzie  valley.  It  has  a  greatest 
length  of  195  miles,  a  greatest  width  of  35  miles,  a  shore  line  of  425  miles, 
an  area  of  2,850  square  miles,  and  an  altitude  of  690  feet  above  the  sea. 

2  Comparatively  little  is  as  yet  known  of  Philip  Tumor.  The  first 
published  reference  to  him  that  I  can  find  is  where  Henry  Roberts,  in  giving 
the  authorities  for  his  map  (Cook's  Third  Voyage,  Introduction,  p.  Ixxi), 
refers  to  "  the  discoveries  from  York  to  Cumberland  and  Hudson  House 
(this  last  is  the  most  western  settlement  belonging  to  the  Company), 
extending  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  from  the  draft  of  Mr.  Philip  Turner,  cor- 
rected by  astronomical  observations."  "The  Albany  and  Moose  Rivers 
to  Gloucester  House  and  to  Lake  Abbitibbe  and  Superior,"  says  Roberts, 
"  are  also  drawn  from  a  map  of  Mr.  Turner's,  adjusted  by  observations 
for  the  longitudes."  From  Roberts's  map,  it  appears  that  Tumor  had 
gone  inland  from  York  Factory  by  the  Nelson  and  Grass  rivers,  and  had 
returned  by  Lake  Winnipeg  and  the  Hayes  river  route,  or  vice  versa,  for 
these  are  the  only  routes  indicated.  Neither  the  Churchill  river  nor  the 
Nelson  river  between  Split  lake  and  Lake  Winnipeg  is  shown  on  this  map. 
These  journeys  inland  were  probably  first  made  in  company  with  Samuel 
Hearne,  when,  in  1774,  he  went  from  York  Factory,  and  established  Cum- 
berland House  on  Pine  Island  lake,  an  enlargement  of  the  Saskatchewan 
river. 

In  1776,  according  to  Thompson,  Turnor  ascended  the  Saskatchewan 
river  from  Cumberland  House,  and  built  Hudson  House,  on  the  North 
Saskatchewan  river,  a  short  distance  above  the  present  site  of  Prince 
Albert. 

In  1779  Tumor  was  at  Severn  Factory,  under  Matthew  Cocking  ;  and 
on  September  28  of  that  year  he  left  there  in  the  sloop  Severn,  of  which 


TRIP  TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  147 

Athabasca  Lake,  by  the  course  of  the  Black  River,  and  it's 
Lakes  is  162  miles,  of  varied  country,  but  the  further  west- 
ward the  better.  And  the  bold,  high,  sloping,  woody  hills  of 
the  Athabasca  Lake  had  something  soft  and  pleasing.  This 
journey  was  attended  with  much  danger,  toil  and  suffering, 
for  my  guide  knew  nothing  of  the  river,  it's  rapids  and  falls, 
haveing  merely  crossed  it  in  places  in  hunting.  We  were 
always  naked  below  the  belt,  on  account  of  the  rapids,  from 
the  rocks,  shoals,  and  other  obstructions  we  had  to  hand  them, 
that  is,  we  were  in  the  water,  with  our  hands  grasping  the 

John  Tumor,  his  brother,  was  master,  and  arrived  at  Moose  Factory  on 
October  21. 

On  December  15,  he  left  Moose  for  Albany,  where  he  remained  with 
Thomas  Hutchins  throughout  the  winter  and  until  the  following  September. 
During  this  time  he  probably  made  his  survey  of  the  Albany  river  up  to 
Gloucester  House  on  Washi  lake,  and  probably  also  of  the  Kenogami  and 
Kabinakagami  rivers,  which  form  together  a  southern  branch  of  the 
Albany  river,  to  "  Capoonacaumistic  "  (Kabinakagami)  lake  and  Lake 
Superior.  On  December  19,  1780,  E.  Jarvis,  then  in  charge  at  Moose,  sent 
him  back  to  Albany  for  some  trading  supplies.  He  returned  on  January  12, 
1 781,  having  made  on  the  way  a  survey  of  the  intervening  portion  of  the 
coast  of  Hudson  Bay.  On  May  11,  he  set  out  on  a  trip  by  canoe  up  the 
Moose  and  Missinaibi  rivers,  past  Wappiscoggamy  House  (Old  Brunswick 
House)  to  Missinaibi  lake  and  thence  to  Lake  Superior  at  Michipicoten 
Harbour.     On  July  13,  he  was  again  back  at  Moose. 

In  the  summer  of  1782  he  made  a  survey  of  Lake  Abitibi,  After 
completing  this  survey,  he  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  Brunswick 
House  on  the  Missinaibi  river;  and  it  is  recorded  that  in  1783  he  was 
too  ill  to  descend  the  river  to  Moose  Factory,  and  was  consequently  unable 
to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Council  there.  For  several  years  after  this, 
he  remained  at  Brunswick  House  ;  then  he  descended  to  Moose  Factory, 
where  he  assumed  the  position  of  second  in  charge. 

On  September  9,  1787,  he  sailed  for  England  in  the  sloop  Beaver.  He 
appears  to  have  returned  to  York  Factory  in  1 789,  and  from  there  to  have 
proceeded  to  Cumberland  House.  In  this  journey  he  was  accompanied 
by  Peter  Fidler,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty  years  of  age,  while  David 
Thompson  came  down  from  the  west  to  join  them.  Tumor  probably 
spent  the  next  two  winters  at  Cumberland  House.  During  this  time  he 
taught  David  Thompson  and  Peter  Fidler  the  principles  of  geography 
and  the  methods  of  surveying,  and  so  laid  the  foundation  of  the  know- 
ledge of  much  of  the  geography  of  north-western  America. 

In  the  spring  of  1791,  Tumor,  accompanied  by  Malcolm  Ross,  left 
Cumberland  House  for  Lake  Athabaska.      On  June  i,  at  Bufifalo  lake. 


148      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

canoe,  and  leading  it  down  the  rapids.  The  bed  of  the  river 
is  of  rough  or  round  loose  stones,  and  gravel,  our  bare  feet 
became  so  sore  that  we  descended  several  rough  rapids  at 
great  risque  of  our  lives.  On  the  25'''  June  we  came  to 
three  tents  of  Chepawyan  Indians  of  iive  families  ;  they  were 
clean,  comfortable,  and  everything  in  good  order.  As  usual, 
they  received  us  in  a  hospitable  manner,  we  put  up  for  the 
night,  and  staid  next  day  until  past  Noon  to  refresh  ourselves 
and  I  obtained  an  observation  for  Latitude.  They  were  hunt- 
ing and  Hving  on  the  large  species  of  Deer,  the  Mahthe 
Moose,  the  meat  was  fat  and  good,  they  told  me  the  habits 
of  this  species  are  utterly  different  from  the  common  wander- 
ing Rein  Deer,  it's  meat  far  superior,  and  in  size  nearly  twice 
that  of  the  common  Deer,  their  eyesight  much  better,  and 
the  hunting  of  them  almost  as  difficult  as  that  of  the  Moose 
Deer,  of  which  there  are  none  in  these  parts. 

On  our  return,  about  half  way  up  the  black  river,  we  came 
to  one  of  the  falls,  with  a  strong  rapid  both  above  and  below 
it,  we  had  a  carrying  place  of  200  yards,  we  then  attempted 
the  strong  current  above  the  fall,  they  were  to  track  the 
canoe  up  by  a  Hne,  walking  on  shore,  while  I  steered  it,  when 
they   had    proceeded   about   eighty   yards,    they   came   to   a 

he  met  Alexander  Mackenzie  going  to  England  to  study  astronomy  and 
geology,  in  order  that  he  might  be  better  prepared  to  make  a  proper 
survey  of  the  route  which  he  intended  to  explore  from  Lake  Athabaska 
to  the  Pacific  ocean.  Alexander  Mackenzie  gave  Tumor  a  letter  to  his 
cousin,  Roderick  Mackenzie,  at  Lake  Athabaska,  asking  him  to  show- 
Tumor  the  fullest  hospitality  ;  but  had  he  appreciated  fully  the  character 
of  the  man  whom  he  had  thus  casually  met  in  a  canoe  on  the  Churchill 
river,  he  might  possibly  have  turned  back,  and  studied  under  him.  Tumor 
made  a  survey  of  Lake  Athabaska,  and  doubtless  also  of  the  route  from 
Cumberland  House  to  it.  The  winter  of  1791-92  he  spent  with  Roderick 
Mackenzie  at  Fort  Chipewyan  ;  and  the  following  year  he  apparently 
returned  to  England. 

As  late  as  1795  he  was  in  communication  with  the  directors  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  London,  but  that  is  the  last  that  has  been 
learned  of  him. 

Whatever  else  may  become  known  of  him.  Tumor's  greatest  distinction 
will  always  be  that  he  was  Thompson's  tutor. 


TRIP  TO  LAKE  ATHABASCA  149 

Birch  Tree,  growing  at  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  there 
stood  and  disputed  between  themselves  on  which  side  of  the 
tree  the  tracking  line  should  pass.  I  called  to  them  to  go 
on,  they  could  not  hear  me  for  the  noise  of  the  fall,  I  then 
waved  mv  hand  for  them  to  proceed,  meanwhile  the  current 
was  drifting  me  out,  and  having  only  one  hand  to  guide  the 
canoe,  the  Indians  standing  still,  the  canoe  took  a  sheer  across 
the  current,  to  prevent  the  canoe  upsetting,  I  waved  my 
hand  to  them  to  let  go  the  line  and  leave  me  to  my  fate, 
which  they  obeyed.  I  sprang  to  the  bow  of  the  canoe  took 
out  my  clasp  knife,  cut  the  line  from  the  canoe  and  put  the 
knife  in  my  pocket,  by  this  time  I  was  on  the  head  of  the 
fall,  all  I  could  do  was  to  place  the  canoe  to  go  down  bow 
foremost,  in  an  instant  the  canoe  was  precipitated  down  the 
fall  (twelve  feet),  and  buried  un(^er  the  waves,  I  was  struck 
out  of  the  canoe,  and  when  I  arose  among  the  waves,  the 
canoe  came  on  me  and  buried  [me]  beneath  it,  to  raise  myself 
I  struck  my  feet  against  the  rough  bottom  and  came  up  close 
to  the  canoe  which  I  grasped,  and  being  now  on  shoal  water, 
I  was  able  to  conduct  the  canoe  to  the  shore.  My  two  com- 
panions ran  down  the  beach  to  my  assistance ;  nothing  re- 
mained in  the  canoe  but  an  axe,  a  small  tent  of  grey  cotton, 
and  my  gun  :  also  a  pewter  basin.  When  the  canoe  was 
hauled  on  shore  I  had  to  lay  down  on  the  rocks,  wounded, 
bruised,  and  exhausted  by  my  exertions.  The  Indians  went 
down  along  the  shore,  and  in  half  an  hours  time  returned 
with  my  box,  Hned  with  cork,  containing  my  Sextant  and  a 
few  instruments,  and  papers  of  the  survey  Maps  &c.  and  our 
three  paddles.  We  had  no  time  to  lose,  my  all  was  my  shirt 
and  a  thin  linen  vest,  my  companions  were  in  the  same 
condition,  we  divided  the  small  tent  into  three  pieces  to 
wrap  round  ourselves,  as  a  defence  against  the  flies  in  the 
day,  and  something  to  keep  us  from  the  cold  at  night,  for  the 
nights  are  always  cold.  On  rising  from  my  rocky  bed,  I 
perceived  much  blood  at  my  left  foot,  on  looking  at  it,   I 


150      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

found  the  flesh  of  my  foot,  from  the  heel  to  near  the  toes 
torn  away,  this  was  done  when  I  struck  my  feet  against  the 
rough  bottom  to  rise  above  the  waves  of  the  fall  of  water. 
A  bit  of  my  share  of  the  tent  bound  the  wound,  and  thus 
barefooted  I  had  to  walk  over  the  carrying  places  with  their 
rude  stones  and  banks.  The  Indians  went  to  the  woods  and 
procured  Gum  of  the  Pines  to  repair  the  canoe,  when  they 
returned,  the  question  was  how  to  make  a  fire,  we  had  neither 
steel,  nor  flint,  I  pointed  to  the  gun  from  which  we  took 
the  flint.  I  then  produced  my  pocket  knife  with  it's  steel 
blade,  if  I  had  drawn  a  ghost  out  of  my  pocket  it  would  not 
more  have  surprized  them,  they  whispered  to  each  other, 
how  avaricious  a  white  man  must  be,  who  rushing  on  death 
takes  care  of  his  Httle  knife,  this  was  often  related  to  other 
Indians  who  all  made  the  same  remark.  I  said  to  them  if  I 
had  not  saved  my  Httle  knife  how  could  we  make  a  fire,  you 
fools  go  to  the  Birch  Trees  and  get  some  touchwood,  which 
they  soon  brought,  a  fire  was  made,  we  repaired  our  canoe, 
and  carried  all  above  the  Fall  and  the  rapid,  they  carried  the 
canoe,  my  share  was  the  gun,  axe,  and  pewter  basin  ;  and 
Sextant  Box.  Late  in  the  evening  we  made  a  fire  and  warmed 
ourselves.  It  was  now  our  destitute  condition  stared  us  in 
the  face,  a  long  journey  through  a  barren  country,  without 
provisions,  or  the  means  of  obtaining  any,  almost  naked,  and 
suffering  from  the  weather,  all  before  us  was  very  dark,  but 
I  had  hopes  that  the  Supreme  Being  through  our  great 
Redeemer  to  whom  I  made  my  short  prayers  morning  and 
evening  would  find  some  way  to  preserve  us ;  on  the  second 
day,  in  the  afternoon  we  came  on  a  small  lake  of  the  river, 
and  in  a  grassy  bay  we  saw  two  large  GuUs  hovering,  this 
lead  us  to  think  they  were  taking  care  of  their  young,  we  went, 
and  found  three  young  gulls,  which  we  put  in  the  canoe,  it 
may  here  be  remarked,  the  Gull  cannot  dive,  he  is  too  Hght ; 
these  gulls  gave  us  but  a  Httle  meat.  They  had  not  four 
ounces  of  meat  on  them.     It  appeared  to  sharpen  hunger. 


TRIP  TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  151 

The  next  day  as  we  proceeded,  I  remembered  an  Eagles 
Nest  on  the  banks  of  a  small  Lake  before  us.  I  enquired  of 
my  companions  if  the  young  eagles  could  fly,  they  said,  they 
are  now  large  but  cannot  yet  fly,  why  do  you  enquire,  I  said, 
do  you  not  remember  the  Eagle's  Nest  on  a  Lake  before  us, 
we  shall  be  there  by  mid  day,  and  get  the  young  eagles  for 
supper,  accordingly  we  came  on  the  Lake  and  went  to  the 
Eagles  Nest,  it  was  about  sixteen  feet  from  the  ground,  in 
the  spreading  branches  of  a  Birch  tree,  the  old  ones  were 
absent,  but  Kozdaw  was  barely  at  the  nest  before  they  arrived, 
and  Paddy  and  myself,  with  shouts  and  pelting  them  with 
stones,  with  difficulty  prevented  the  Eagles  ^  from  attacking 
Kozdaw,  he  soon  threw  the  two  young  eagles  down  to  us, 
they  placed  themselves  on  their  backs,  and  with  beak  and 
claws  fought  for  their  lives,  when  apparently  dead,  Kozdaw 
incautiously  laid  hold  of  one  of  them,  who  immediately 
struck  the  claws  of  one  foot  deep  into  his  arm  above  the 
wrist.  So  firm  were  the  claws  in  his  arm,  I  had  to  cut  off 
the  leg  at  the  first  joint  above  the  claws,  even  then  when  we 
took  out  a  claw,  it  closed  in  again,  and  we  had  to  put  bits  of 
wood  under  each  claw  until  we  got  the  whole  out. 

We  continued  our  journey  to  the  evening,  when  as  usual 
we  put  ashore,  and  made  a  fire,  on  opening  the  young  eagles 
their  insides  appeared  a  mass  of  yellow  fat,  which  we  collected, 
and  with  the  meat,  divided  into  three  equal  portions  :  Paddy 
and  myself  eat  only  the  inside  fat,  reserving  the  meat  for 
next  day,  but  we  noticed  Kozdaw,  roasting  the  meat ;  and 
oihng  himself  with  the  fat :  in  the  night  we  were  both 
awakened  by  a  violent  dysentry  from  the  effects  of  the  eagles 
fat,  Kozdaw  now  told  us  that  such  was  always  the  effects  of 
the  inside  fat  of  the  fishing  Eagle  (the  bald  headed)  and  also 
of  most  birds  of  prey  that  Hve  on  fish,  Paddy  bitterly  re- 
proached him  for  allowing  us  to  eat  it,  we  had  to  march  all 
day  in  this  state,  in  the  evening,  I  filled  the  pewter  basin 

1  Haliceetus  I.  alascanus  Townsend.     [E.  A.  P.] 


152      DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

with  Labrador  Tea/  and  by  means  of  hot  stones  made  a 
strong  infusion,  drank  it  as  hot  as  I  could,  which  very  much 
relieved  me.  Paddy  did  the  same  with  like  effect.  We  con- 
tinued our  voyage  day  after  day,  subsisting  on  berries,  mostly 
the  crowberry,  which  grows  on  the  ground ;  and  is  not 
nutritious.  To  the  sixteenth  of  July ;  both  Paddy  and 
myself  were  now  like  skeletons,  the  effects  of  hunger,  and 
dysentry  from  cold  nights,  and  so  weak,  that  we  thought  it 
useless  to  go  any  further  but  die  where  we  were.  Kozdaw 
now  burst  out  into  tears,  upon  which  we  told  him  that  he 
was  yet  strong,  as  he  had  not  suffered  from  disease.  He  re- 
plied, if  both  of  you  die,  I  am  sure  to  be  killed,  for  everyone 
will  believe  that  I  have  killed  you  both,  the  white  men  will 
revenge  your  death  on  me,  and  the  Indians  will  do  the  same 
for  him  ;  I  told  him  to  get  some  thin  white  birch  rind,  and 
I  would  give  him  a  writing,  which  he  did,  with  charcoal  I 
wrote  a  short  account  of  our  situation,  which  I  gave  him, 
upon  which  he  said  now  I  am  safe.  However  we  got  into 
the  canoe,  and  proceeded  slowly,  we  were  very  weak,  when 
thank  God,  in  the  afternoon  we  came  to  two  tents  of  Chepa- 
wyans,  who  pitied  our  wretched  condition  ;  they  gave  us 
broth,  but  would  allow  us  no  meat  until  the  next  day  :  I 
procured  some  provisions,  a  flint  and  nine  rounds  of 
ammunition,  and  a  pair  of  shoes  for  each  of  us  on  credit,  to 
be  paid  for  when  they  came  to  trade,  also  an  old  kettle ;  we 
now  proceeded  on  our  journey  with  thanks  to  God,  and 
cheerful  hearts.  We  killed  two  Swans,  and  without  any 
accident  on  the  21^'  July  arrived  at  Fairford  House  from 
whence  we  commenced  our  Journey.  From  this  time  to  the 
26""  August,  our  time  was  spent  in  fishing  and  hunting,  and 
with  all  our  exertions  we  could  barely  maintain  ourselves. 
During  this  time  seventeen  Loons  got  entangled  in  the  Nets, 
a  few  were  drowned,  but  the  greater  part  alive  :  the  Loon 
is  at  all  times  a  fierce  bird,  and  all  these  with  beak  and  claws 

1.  Ledum  green landicmn  CEder.     [E.  A.  P.] 


TRIP   TO   LAKE   ATHABASCA  153 

fought  to  the  last  gasp.  I  have  often  taken  one,  out  of  the 
Net,  aHve  and  placed  it  in  the  yard,  and  set  the  dogs  on  it, 
but  it  fought  so  fiercely,  screaming  all  the  time,  the  dogs 
would  not  attack  it.  They  Hve  wholly  on  fish,  which  gives 
their  flesh  so  strong  a  taste  that  few  can  eat  them,  especially 
if  they  feed  on  trout,  those  that  live  on  Carp,  White  Fish, 
Pickerel  and  Pike  have  a  better  taste,  but  always  bad  ;  they 
lay  only  two,  or  three  eggs,  which  when  boiled  are  of  a  yellowish 
color,  veined  with  black,  and  are  not  eatable.  They  are  most 
expert  fishers,  though  seldom  fat ;  and  often  gorge  them- 
selves, [so]  that  they  cannot  fly ;  but  they  are  expert  divers, 
and  have  the  power  of  sinking  their  body  so  that  only  their 
head  is  above  water,  and  at  will  maintaining  it ;  their  dive 
is  generally  forty  to  fifty  yards,  and  but  a  little  below  the 
surface.  On  the  land  he  is  helpless,  can  neither  walk,  nor 
fly,  but  [is]  quite  at  home  in  the  water. 

On  the  iG^  August  M'  Malcolm  Ross,  with  four  small 
Canoes  loaded  with  Goods  arrived  from  York  Factory,  each 
carrying  about  six  hundred  pounds  weight.  We  left  this 
house  and  proceeded  up  the  Rein  Deer's  River  to  the  Lake, 
and  to  near  the  head  of  the  Rivulet,  where  was  a  point  of 
tolerable  Pines,  near  the  middle  of  the  Lake,  on  the  west 
bank,  which  by  numerous  observations  I  found  to  be  in 
Latitude  57°.  23'  N  Longitude  102°.  58'.  35"  West  of  Green- 
wich Variation  15  degrees  east.  We  builded  Log  Huts  to  pass 
the  winter,  the  chimneys  were  of  mud  and  coarse  grass,  but 
somehow  did  not  carry  off  the  smoke,  and  the  Huts  were 
wretched  with  smoke,  so  that  however  bad  the  weather,  we 
were  glad  to  leave  the  Huts.^ 

1  The  trading  post  built  by  Thompson  on  the  west  shore  of  Reindeer 
lake  was  called  by  him  Bedford  House.  In  it  he  and  Malcolm  Ross 
spent  the  winter  of  1796-97,  one  of  the  coldest  winters  ever  known  in  wes- 
tern Canada.  The  exact  position  of  the  post  has  not  been  determined, 
but  it  cannot  have  been  far  from  the  island  which  I  called  Thompson 
island  in  making  a  survey  of  the  lake  in  1892. 


CHAPTER    IX 

WINTER    AT   REIN   DEER   LAKE 

Build  a  Trading  Post  at  Rein  Deer  Lake — Winter  at  Rein 
Deer  Lake — Intense  Cold — Formation  of  ice  in  ijgS — 
Aurora — Aurora  as  souls  of  the  dead — Fishing — Hunting — 
Moss  —  Insects  —  Chepawyan  Travelling  —  Property  in 
Women — History  of  a  quarrel — Immortality — Angling — 
Origen  of  the  Chepawyan  archery. 

OUR  whole  dependence  for  food  was  on  our  set  nets, 
and  what  little  Deer's  meat  the  Chepawyans  might 
bring  us.  The  fishery  during  the  short  open  season 
was  somewhat  successful  for  white  fish,  but  they  were  not  of 
the  best  quaHty  ;  but  when  the  Lake  became  frozen  over  as 
usual  the  Fish  shifted  their  ground,  and  all  we  could  procure 
was  a  bare  subsistence.  Winter  soon  set  in,  the  most  severe 
I  ever  experienced  ;  I  had  for  some  years  been  accustomed 
to  keep  Meteorological  Journals,  my  Thermometers  were 
from  Dolland  one  of  Spirits,  and  one  Quicksilver ;  each 
divided  to  forty  two  degrees  below  Zero,  being  seventy  four 
degrees  below  freezing  point ;  I  had  long  suspected  that  in 
extreme  cold,  as  the  Spirits  approached  the  bulb,  it  required 
two  or  three  degrees  of  cold,  to  make  the  Thermometer 
decend  one  degree ;  I  therefore  wrote  to  Mr  Dolland,  to 
make  me  a  large  Thermometer  divided  to  upwards  of  one 
hundred  degrees  below  zero.  He  sent  me  a  Thermometer  of 
red  colored  spirits  of  wine,  divided  to  no  degrees  below 
zero,  or  142  degrees  below  the  freezing  point,  (zero  is 
32  degrees  below  the  freezing  point).     The  month  of  October 

154 


WINTER  AT   REIN   DEER   LAKE        155 

was  many  degrees  below  the  freezing  point,  and  on  the 
17"'  day  the  snow  remained  on  the  ground.  On  November 
the  10'''  the  Thermometer  was  10*'  below  zero;  on  the  ii'** 
day  27°  below  Zero,  the  iz'''  day  12°,  the  13  day  15°  degrees; 
on  the  14'^  day  25°  degrees ;  on  the  15*^  day  28  degrees  below 
zero.  And  this  great  deep  Lake  of  230  miles  in  length,  by  80  to 
100  miles  in  width  was  entirely  frozen  over.  In  the  course  of 
the  winter,  the  ice  of  the  Lake  became  five  to  six  feet  thick. 
On  the  following  year,  the  first  water  seen  along  shore  was  on 
the  5'^  day  of  July.  On  the  7*^  day,  a  gale  of  wind  shook 
the  ice  to  pieces,  and  the"  whole  disappeared,  scarce  a  frag- 
ment [remained]  on  the  shore  after  being  frozen  over  for 
7f  months. 

I  may  here  remark  that  my  hard  life,  obHging  me  to  cut 
holes  in  the  ice  for  angHng  for  fish,  at  all  seasons  while  the 
Lake  was  frozen  over,  has  led  me  to  notice  a  curious  operation 
of  nature,  the  ice  of  these  great  Lakes,  without  any  current 
in  them,  is  very  Httle  thawed  on  the  surface  by  the  action  of 
mild  weather,  the  Httle  that  is  softened  in  the  day,  the  night 
makes  soHd  ice,  it  is  the  water  beneath  the  ice,  that  makes 
it  decay  :  when  the  mild  season  comes,  the  ice  is  gradually 
worn  away  by  the  action  of  the  water ;  often  in  making  holes 
for  angling,  while  the  surface  appeared  soHd  as  [in]  winter, 
my  ice  chissel  soon  went  through ;  on  taking  up  a  piece  of 
about  one  square  foot,  the  soHd  ice  may  be  four  inches  thick. 
The  rest  was  what  we  call  candles,  that  is,  icicles  of  fifteen  to 
eighteen  inches,  or  more  in  length,  each  distinct  from  the 
other,  it  is  thus  that  nature  prepares  the  ice  to  be  broken  up 
by  a  strong  gale  of  wind  ;  In  the  morning  of  the  7'**  July 
the  Lake  had  the  appearance  of  winter,  in  the  afternoon  [it 
was]  as  clear  of  ice,  as  if  it  had  never  been  frozen  over.  A 
Gale  of  wind  had  left  nothing  but  icicles  on  the  shore. 

Although  during  November  the  cold  was  intense,  yet  not 
so  much  so  as  to  prove  the  Thermometers,  1795  on  the 
15*''    December   the   large   Thermometer  fell    to    42    below 


156      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

zero,  but  the  other  showed  only  40  degrees,  and  that  of 
Quicksilver  fell  into  the  bulb,  which  was  only  four  fifths 
fuU.  On  the  morning  of  the  18'^  December,  by  the  large 
Thermometer  it  was  56  degrees  below  zero,  the  small  spirit 
Thermometer  stood  at  41°  degrees,  and  it  appeared  no  degree 
of  cold  could  make  it  descend  into  the  bulb  ;  the  quicksilver  in 
the  bulb  appeared  to  fill  only  two  thirds  of  the  bulb  :  it  may 
be  remarked  that  for  four  days  previous  to  this  great  degree 
of  cold,  the  Thermometer  was  at  35  degrees,  37,  44  and  46 
degrees  below  zero.  On  the  18'^  December  at  8  am  the 
Thermometer  was  56 ;  at  Noon  44 ;  and  at  9  pm  48  degrees 
below  zero.  It  was  a  day  of  most  intense  cold,  the  ice  on  the 
Lake  was  spHtting  in  all  directions,  the  smoke  from  the 
chimneys  fell  in  lumps  to  the  ground.  These  intense  colds 
gave  me  frequent  opportunities  of  freezing  quicksilver ;  I 
often  attempted  to  beat  it  out  into  thin  plates  Hke  lead,  but 
however  cautiously  I  proceeded,  the  edges  were  all  fractured, 
and  a  few  quick  blows  with  the  hammer,  however  light, 
would  liquefy  it. 

Hitherto  I  have  said  little  on  the  Aurora  Borealis  of  the 
northern  countries ;  at  Hudson's  Bay  they  are  north  west- 
ward, and  only  occasionally  brilliant.  I  have  passed  four 
winters  between  the  Bay  and  the  Rein  Deer's  Lake,  the  more 
to  the  westward,  the  higher  and  brighter  is  this  electric  fluid, 
but  always  westward  ;  but  at  this,  the  Rein  Deer's  Lake,  as 
the  winter  came  on,  especially  in  the  months  of  February 
and  March,  the  whole  heavens  were  in  a  bright  glow.  We 
seemed  to  be  in  the  centre  of  it's  action,  from  the  horizon  in 
every  direction  from  north  to  south,  from  east  to  west,  the 
Aurora  was  equally  bright,  sometimes,  indeed  often,  with  a 
tremulous  motion  in  immense  sheets,  sHghtly  tinged  with  the 
colors  of  the  Rainbow,  would  roll,  from  horizon  to  horizon. 
Sometimes  there  would  be  a  stillness  of  two  minutes ;  the 
Dogs  howled  with  fear,  and  their  brightness  was  often  such 
that  with  only  their  Hght  I  could  see  to  shoot  an  owl  at  twenty 


WINTER  AT   REIN   DEER   LAKE        157 

yards ;  in  the  rapid  motions  of  the  Aurora  we  were  all 
perswaded  we  heard  them,  reason  told  me  I  did  not,  but  it 
was  cool  reason  against  sense.  My  men  were  positive  they 
did  hear  the  rapid  motions  of  the  Aurora,  this  was  the  eye 
deceiving  the  ear  ;  I  had  my  men  blindfolded  by  turns,  and 
then  enquired  of  them,  if  they  heard  the  rapid  motions  of 
the  Aurora.  They  soon  became  sensible  they  did  not,  and 
yet  so  powerful  was  the  Illusion  of  the  eye  on  the  ear,  that 
they  still  believed  they  heard  the  Aurora.  What  is  the  cause 
that  this  place  seems  to  be  in  the  centre  of  the  most  vivid 
brightness  and  extension  of  the  Aurora  :  from  whence  this 
immense  extent  of  electric  fluid,  how  is  it  formed,  whither 
does  it  go.  Questions  without  an  answer.  I  am  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  countries  to  the  westward.  The 
farther  west  the  less  is  this  Aurora.  At  the  Mountains  it  is 
not  seen. 

I  have  said  our  livelihood  depended  on  fishing  and  hunting. 
Part  of  the  fishery  was  angling  for  large  trout, ^  they  are  not 
to  be  taken  but  in  deep  water,  from  20  to  40  fathoms,  or 
more,  for  this  fish,  hooks  are  not  used  ;  but  the  Chepawyan 
method  adopted  :  the  first  thing  done  is  making  one,  or  more 
holes  in  the  ice  with  the  ice  chissel,  which  is  a  small  bar  of 
iron  of  two  pounds  weight,  at  one  end  flat,  at  the  other  end 
a  chissel  of  an  inch  in  width,  the  greater  part  of  this  is  in- 
serted in  a  groove  of  a  strong  pole  of  birch  of  full  six  feet  in 
length,  the  chissel  end  projecting  about  five  inches ;  with 
this,  a  hole  is  quickly  made  in  the  ice  of  any  dimensions, 
without  the  person  in  the  least  wetting  himself,  the  axe  is 
never  used.  A  sounding  line  is  now  used  to  ascertain  the 
depth  of  water,  which  must  not  be  less  than  twenty  fathoms, 
as  large  trout  are  found  only  in  deep  water.  The  set  line  is 
now  carefully  measured,  with  a  coil  of  five  fathoms  neatly 
made  up  with  a  slip  knot  [it]  is  attached  to  the  bait,  [which] 
is  the  half  of  a  white  fish,  the  head  part  only,  as  the  trout 
^  Cristivomer  namaycush  (Walbaum).     [E.  A.  P.] 


158      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

always  takes  the  white  fish  head  foremost,  a  small  round  stick 
of  birch  well  dried  and  hardened  by  the  fire,  but  not  burnt, 
is  slightly  attached  to  the  under  part  of  the  bait,  about  six 
inches  in  length,  the  line  is  fixed  about  one  third  below  the 
head  of  the  bait,  this  is  placed  as  near  as  possible  about  six 
feet  above  the  bottom.  The  trout  takes  the  bait,  the  slip 
knot  of  five  fathoms  of  Hne  gives  way,  which  enables  him  to 
swallow  the  bait,  at  the  end  of  which  he  is  brought  up  with  a 
jerk,  which  causes  the  piece  of  wood  to  become  vertical  in 
his  mouth,  his  jaws  are  extended  and  we  often  find  him 
drowned,  a  strange  death  for  a  fish.  In  angling  for  trout, 
everything  is  the  same,  the  fish  caught  alive  are  better  than 
those  drowned,  whether  by  a  set  line  or  in  a  net ;  the  weight 
of  the  trout  was  from  twenty  five  to  forty  five  pounds,  I 
have  heard  of  trout  fifty  five  pounds ;  they  are  very  rich  fish, 
make  a  nutritious  broth,  and  pound  for  pound  are  equal  to 
good  beef.  One  day  as  usual,  I  had  pierced  the  ice  with  new 
holes,  or  cleaned  out  the  old  holes  with  an  ice  racket,  [when] 
an  old  Chepawyan  Indian  came  to  me,  I  told  him  I  had  five 
holes  in  the  ice,  and  for  these  two  days  had  caught  nothing. 
He  shook  his  head,  left  me  and  went  about  one  hundred 
yards  westward  of  me,  we  were  about  five  miles  from  land, 
he  then  looked  at  all  the  land  within  sight,  shifted  his  place 
until  all  his  marks  coincided,  he  then  pierched  a  hole  thro' 
the  ice,  put  down  his  angling  tackle,  and  in  about  an  hours 
time  brought  up  a  fine  trout  of  full  thirty  pounds.  By 
one  PM  he  caught  another,  rather  larger,  soon  after  which 
he  gave  over,  put  up  his  tackle  and  came  to  me,  I  had  caught 
nothing  ;  he  asked  to  see  my  bait  which  I  showed  to  him,  it 
was  Hke  his,  he  noticed  that  it  was  not  greased,  he  showed 
his  bait  which  was  well  greased,  and  taking  out  a  little  bag, 
a  piece  of  grease  with  which  he  greased  the  bait  twice  a  day  ; 
he  told  me  I  must  do  the  same.  He  remarked  to  me  that  I 
came  too  soon,  and  staid  too  late  ;  that  the  trout  took  bait 
only  for  a  while  after  sunrise  to  near  sunset,  but  that  about 


WINTER   AT   REIN   DEER  LAKE        159 

noon  was  the  best  time  ;  it  has  always  appeared  strange  to 
me  that  a  Trout  in  forty  fathoms  water,  with  a  covering 
of  full  five  feet  thickness  of  ice,  on  a  dark  cloudy  day,  should 
know  when  the  sun  rises  and  sets  but  so  it  is.  I  followed 
the  Chepawyan's  advice,  and  was  more  successful. 

In  hunting,  we  had  but  Httle  success,  and  killed  only  a 
few  Rein  Deer.  On  fine  days  small  herds  would  go  out  on  the 
Lake  some  four  miles  from  land,  and  lie  down  for  a  few  hours 
on  the  ice  as  if  to  cool  themselves ;  one  fine  cold  day  M"" 
Ross  and  myself  killed  a  Doe,  our  hands  were  freezing,  we 
opened  her,  and  put  our  hands  in  the  blood  to  warm  them, 
but  the  heat  of  the  blood  was  like  scalding  water  which  we 
could  not  bear.  Both  of  us  were  accustomed  to  hunting 
and  knew  the  heat  of  the  blood  of  many  animals,  we  were 
surprised,  we  examined  the  stomach,  it  was  full  of  white 
moss.  I  tasted  it,  and  swallowed  a  little,  it  was  warm  in  my 
stomach.  I  then  traced  the  Deer  to  where  they  had  been 
feeding,  it  was  on  a  white  crisp  moss  in  a  circular  form,  of 
about  ten  inches  diameter,  each  division  distinct,  yet  close 
together.  I  took  a  small  piece,  about  the  size  of  a  nutmeg, 
chewed  it,  it  had  a  mild  taste.  I  swallowed  it,  and  it  became 
Hke  a  coal  of  fire  in  my  stomach.  I  took  care  never  to  repeat 
the  experiment  :  It  is  by  food  of  this  warm  nature,  that  the 
Animals  and  Birds  of  the  cold  regions  are  not  only  enabled  to 
bear  the  intense  cold,  but  find  it  warm. 

What  is  the  heat  imparted  to  the  blood,  by  each  kind  of 
food ;  from  the  water  melon,  and  wild  rice  to  the  Rein 
Deer  Moss. 

This  solved  to  me  the  excessive  heat  of  the  blood  of  the 
Rein  Deer,  on  this  Lake  only  I  have  found  this  moss.  I 
have  tasted  all  the  mosses  of  Lake  Superior  and  many  other 
Lakes,  but  have  found  nothing  of  the  same.  Is  this  moss 
then  peculiar  to  the  northern  barren  countries  of  rock  and 
moss,  that  the  food  of  the  Rein  Deer  and  Musk  Oxen  shall 
make  the  temperature  of  fifty  to  seventy  degrees  below  the 


160     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

freezing  point  as  the  month  of  April  is  to  our  cattle ;  it 
appears  so. 

M""  Ross  and  myself  several  times,  when  we  went  a  hunting, 
took  a  Thermometer  with  us  to  ascertain  the  heat  of  the 
blood  of  the  Rein  Deer,  but  it  so  happened,  when  we  had  a 
Thermometer  with  us,  we  killed  no  Deer,  and  therefore 
could  not  know  the  heat  of  the  blood.  The  Stomach,  or 
Paunch,  of  the  Rein  Deer  is  taken  out  of  the  animal,  the 
orifice  tied  up,  and  then  for  three  days  hung  in  the  smoke, 
but  not  near  the  fire.  It  is  now  sour,  bits  of  meat  and  fat 
are  mixed  with  the  contents,  it  is  then  boiled,  and  all  those 
who  have  eaten  of  it  say  it  is  an  agreeable,  hearty  food. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year,  as  the  snow  begins  occasionally 
to  thaw,  myriads  of  a  small  black  insect^  make  their  appear- 
ance, so  numerous,  that  the  surface  of  the  snow  is  black  with 
them,  they  are  about  one  twentieth  of  an  inch  in  length,  of 
a  compact  make,  they  cover  the  sides  of  Lakes,  and  Rivers  ; 
snow  shoe  paths,  and  other  places ;  they  come  with  the  first 
thaw  of  the  snow,  and  disappear  with  the  snow.  The  ques- 
tion is,  from  whence  are  these  myriads  of  insects  which  are 
seen  on  the  snow,  they  cannot  come  from  the  ground,  pene- 
trate three  feet  of  hard  snow,  they  are  never  found  below  the 
surface  of  the  snow.  How  do  they  Hve,  upon  what  do  they 
live.  Upon  examining  the  edges  of  the  ice,  as  it  began  to 
thaw,  I  saw  a  great  number  of  insects  something  Hke  those 
in  the  snow,  they  were  rather  larger,  the  head  had  two 
feelers,  the  body  increased  in  size  to  the  end,  where  it  was 
round.  They  had  two  legs,  some  were  dead,  others  dormant. 
Those  that  were  fully  alive  and  active,  upon  my  touching 
them  with  my  finger,  made  a  leap  of  about  an  inch  into  an 
almost  invisible  crevice  of  the  ice,  and  there  remained.  The 
native  name  is  Oopinarnartarwewuk,  jumping  insects.  From 
whence  come  so  suddenly  these  myriads   of  insects   on  the 

*  Snow  Fleas,  Achorutes.     [E.  A.  P.] 


WINTER  AT  REIN   DEER  LAKE       161 

surface  of  the  snow,  and  edges  of  the  ice ;  and  in  such 
myriads ;  and  only  on  the  snow  and  ice,  and  each  has  a 
distinct  insect. 

My  residence  on  the  Rein  Deer's  Lake  which  has  become 
the  country  of  the  Chepawyans ;  gave  me  an  insight  into  the 
morals  and  manners  of  these  people  which  I  had  not  before. 
I  have  already  noticed  the  treatment  of  the  Women  and 
every  thing  that  passed  this  Winter  confirmed  it ;  during 
this  season  many  of  them  came  in  to  trade  ;  the  bank  of  the 
Lake  to  the  House,  was  a  low  regular  slope ;  seing  a  Woman 
carrying  a  heavy  child,  and  hauling  a  long,  loaded  sled  ;  as 
she  came  to  the  bank,  I  desired  one  of  the  Men,  who  was 
remarkable  for  his  great  strength  to  assist  her,  she  gave  the 
trace  to  him  :  thinking  a  Woman  could  not  haul  any  weight 
worth  notice,  he  carelessly  put  two  fingers  to  the  trace  of 
the  Sled,  but  could  not  move  it ;  he  had  at  length  to  employ 
all  his  strength  to  start  the  Sled,  and  haul  it  to  the  House  : 
the  Sled  and  load  weighed  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds  :  among  them  was  a  little  girl  of  about  six  years  of 
age.  She  had  her  sled,  and  hauled  on  it,  a  brass  Kettle  that 
held  four  gallons  :  The  Boys  had  a  Hght  Sled,  or  carried  a 
few  pounds  weight,  the  Men  had  little  else  than  their  Guns ; 
such  is  the  order  when  removing  from  place  to  place  during 
the  winter ;  Those  who  make  use  of  Canoes  during  the 
summer,  and  they  are  now  almost  in  general  use,  place  the 
women  in  far  more  easy  circumstances,  and  the  Men  take 
their  share  of  paddling  the  canoes ;  loading  and  unloading 
them ;  but  in  fact  the  Women  are  considered  as  the  drudges 
of  the  Men. 

The  Women,  until  they  have  children  appear  to  be  the 
property  of  the  strongest  Man,  that  has  no  woman  :  One 
day  in  the  latter  end  of  February,  a  Chepawyan  called  the 
Crane  and  his  Wife  came  to  the  House,  he  was  well  named, 
tall,  thin,  and  active,  he  at  times  hunted  for  us.  His  wife 
was  a  good  looking  young  Woman,   they  appeared  to  love 


162     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

each  other  but  had  no  children.  Six,  or  seven  of  us  were 
sitting  in  the  guard  room  talking  of  the  weather,  the  Crane 
was  smoking  his  pipe,  and  his  Wife  sitting  beside  him,  when 
suddenly  a  Chepawyan  entered,  equally  tall,  but  powerfully 
made.  He  went  directly  to  the  Crane  and  told  him  "  I  am 
come  for  your  woman,  and  I  must  have  her,  my  woman  is 
dead,  and  I  must  have  this  woman  to  do  my  work  and  carry 
my  things  "  ;  and  suiting  the  action  to  the  word  he  twisted  his 
hand  in  the  hair  of  her  head  to  drag  her  away  ;  on  this  the 
Crane  started  up  and  seized  him  by  the  waist ;  he  let  go  the 
Woman,  and  in  like  manner  seized  the  Crane  ;  and  a  wrestling 
match  took  place  which  was  well  maintained  by  the  Crane 
for  some  time ;  but  his  adversary  was  too  powerful,  and  at 
length  his  strength  failed,  and  he  was  thrown  on  the  floor, 
his  opponent  placing  his  knee  on  his  breast,  with  both  hands 
seized  his  head  and  twisted  his  neck  so  much,  that  his  face 
was  almost  on  his  back,  and  we  expected  to  see  it  break ;  in 
an  instant  we  made  him  let  go,  kicked  him  out  of  the  house, 
with  an  assurance  that  if  he  came  back  to  do  the  same,  we 
would  send  a  ball  through  him  ;  he  seemed  to  think  he  had 
done  wrong,  upon  which  we  told  him  that  he  was  welcome 
at  any  time  to  come  and  smoke,  or  trade,  but  not  to  quarrel. 
After  standing  a  few  minutes  he  called  to  the  Crane  ;  You  are 
now  under  the  protection  of  the  White  Men,  in  the  summer 
I  shall  see  you  on  our  lands,  and  then  I  shall  twist  your  neck 
and  take  your  woman  from  you ;  he  went  away  and  we  saw 
no  more  of  him  ;  Their  lands,  which  they  claim  as  their  own 
country ;  and  to  which  no  other  people  have  a  right,  are 
those  eastward  of  the  Rein  Deer's  and  Manito  Lakes  to 
Churchill  Factory  and  northward  along  the  interior  of  the 
sea  coast ;  aU  other  lands  they  hunt  on  belonged  to  the 
Nahathaways,  who  have  returned  to  the  Southwest  ward. 
Early  in  the  month  of  December,  past  midnight,  a  Chepawyan 
of  middle  stature,  of  about  twenty  five  years  of  age,  came  to 
the  house  alone,  he  brought  a  bundle  of  Beaver  and  Marten 


WINTER  AT   REIN   DEER  LAKE        163 

skins ;   he  looked  about  with  suspicion  ;   and  enquired  if  any 
of  the  Natives  were  near  the  house.     We  told  him,  there  had 
been  none  for  several  days  ;    he  then  traded  his  furrs  for 
necessaries,  except  a  few  Martens  for  Beads  and  Rings.     He 
told  me  he  had  a  Wife  and  two  children ;    and  enquired  if  I 
knew  a  certain  Indian.     I  said  I  did  ;    "  Then  when  you  see 
him,  tell  him  we  are  all  well,  he  is  my  uncle,  and  the  only 
man  who  is  kind  to  me."     After  smoking,  I   offered  him  a 
Bison  Robe  to  sleep  on,   but  he  told  me  he  must  set  off 
directly  ;    which  he  did,  having  staid  only  about  an  hour. 
There  was   something  strange  about  him  which  excited  my 
curiousity.      About  a  month  afterwards  his   Uncle  came  to 
the  House ;    I  told  I  had  seen  his  Nephew,  and  that  he  had 
come  alone  in  the  night  to  trade,  and  desired  me  to  say  they 
were   all  well,   and   then   enquired   the   reason   of  his   hasty 
leaving  the  House  after  trading ;    he  smoked  for  some  time  ; 
and  then  said  My  Nephew  is  a  man,  but  he  has  not  been  wise, 
he  is  not  strong,  about  five  winters  ago,  a  young  woman  was 
given  to  him,  and  after  a  few  moons,  we  camped  with  some 
other  tents  of  Chepawyans,   where   there  was   a   tall  strong 
young  man  who  had  no  woman.     He  went  to   my  nephew 
and  demanded  him  to  give  up  his  wife,  which  he  refused  to 
do,  upon  which  the  other  took  hold  of  him,  threw  him  on  the 
ground,   and  began  twisting  his   neck  ;    we  told  him   to  let 
him  alone  and  take  the  woman  ;   she  was  unwilling  to  go  with 
him,  upon  which  he  laid  hold  of  her  hair  to  drag  her  away  ; 
my  nephew  sprung  up,  took  his  gun  and  shot  him  dead,  and 
made  the  ground  red  with  man's  blood,  which  he  ought  not 
to   have   done ;     We   all   pitched   away   and   left   the   place  : 
since  which  he  lives  alone  and  is  afraid  to  meet  any  tents, 
for  they  take  every  thing  from  them,  and  leave  them  nothing 
but  the  clothes  they  have  on ;    he  has  been  twice  stripped 
of  all  he  had  ;    and  therefore  keeps  away  by  himself.     I  told 
them  that  if  I  had  a  wife,  and  any  one  came  to  take  her  away, 
I  would  surely  shoot  him  ;    Ah,  that  is  the  way  you  White 


164      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Men,  and  our  Neighbours  the  Nahathaways  always  talk  and 
do,  a  Woman  cannot  be  touched  but  you  get  hold  of  guns 
and  long  Knives  ;  What  is  a  woman  good  for,  she  cannot 
hunt,  she  is  only  to  work  and  carry  our  things,  and  on  no 
account  whatever  ought  the  ground  to  be  made  red  with 
man's  blood.  Then  the  strong  men  take  Women  when  they 
want  them  ;  Certainly  the  strong  men  have  a  right  to  the 
Women.  And  if  the  Woman  has  children  ;  That  is  as  the 
strong  man  pleases.  So  far  as  the  Women  are  concerned 
they  are  a  sett  of  Brutes.  The  expression  "  the  ground  red 
with  Man's  blood "  is  used  by  all  the  Natives  of  North 
America  as  very  hateful  to  see  ;  but  by  the  southern  Indians, 
accustomed  to  war,  it  is  limited  to  that  of  their  relations 
and  tribe  ;  yet  it  has  a  meaning  I  never  could  comprehend 
in  the  same  sense  as  the  Natives  use  it,  for  they  seem  to 
attach  a  mysterious  meaning  to  the  expression.  In  the  latter 
end  of  March,  this  forlorn  Native,  again  came  to  the  House 
alone  ;  he  had  made  a  good  hunt  of  furrs  and  traded  them  in 
clothing  for  himself  and  family,  ammunition  and  tobacco, 
not  forgetting  beads  and  other  articles  for  his  wife.  I  en- 
quired of  him,  if  what  his  uncle  had  told  me  was  true,  he  said 
it  was,  that  he  had  been  twice  pillaged,  and  that  the  Women 
were  worse  than  the  Men  ;  you  see  I  have  again  come  to  you 
in  the  night,  and  before  I  came  into  the  House,  I  made  sure 
there  were  no  Chepawyans,  for  if  I  had  met  any  they  would 
have  taken  the  whole  of  my  hunt  from  me,  and  left  me  with 
nothing.  I  enquired  why  he  did  not  tent  with  the  Nahatha- 
ways who  think  much  of  their  women,  and  love  brave  men. 
He  was  at  a  loss  what  to  say,  or  do. 

With  regard  to  the  immortahty  of  the  soul ;  and  the 
nature  of  the  other  world,  the  best  evidence  of  their  belief 
I  learned  from  a  woman  ;  her  husband  had  traded  with  me 
two  winters.  They  had  a  fine  boy  of  six  years  of  age,  their 
only  child ;  he  became  ill  and  died  ;  and  according  to  their 
custom  she  had  to  mourn  for  him  twelve  Moons,  crying  in 


WINTER   AT   REIN   DEER  LAKE        165 

a  low  voice  "  She  azza,  She  azza "  (my  little  son)  never 
ceasing  while  awake,  and  often  bursting  into  tears. 

About  three  months  after,  I  saw  her  again,  [making]  the 
same  cry,  the  same  sorrowful  woman,  her  husband  was  kind 
to  her ;  About  six  months  after  this  I  saw  her  again,  she  no 
longer  cried  "  She  azza,"  and  was  no  longer  a  sorrowing 
woman ;  I  enquired  of  her  the  cause  of  this  change.  She 
replied.  When  my  little  son  went  to  the  other  world,  there 
was  none  to  receive  him,  even  his  Grandfather  is  yet  alive ; 
he  was  friendless,  he  wandered  alone  in  the  pitching  track  of 
the  tents,  (here  she  shed  tears)  there  was  none  to  take  care 
of  him  no  one  to  give  him  a  bit  of  meat.  More  than  two 
moons  ago,  his  father  died,  I  sorrowed  for  him,  and  still 
sadly  regret  him,  but  he  is  gone  to  my  son,  his  father  will 
take  great  care  of  him.  He  will  no  longer  wander  alone,  his 
father  will  be  always  with  him,  and  when  I  die  I  shall  go  to 
them.  Such  was  the  belief  that  comforted  this  poor  child- 
less widow,  and  in  which  I  encouraged  her,  and  telling  her 
that  to  be  happy  in  the  other  world,  and  go  to  our  relations, 
we  must  lead  good  lives  here. 

These  people  though  subject  to  great  vicissitudes  yet 
suffer  less  from  extreme  hunger  than  the  Nahathaways.  The 
latter  pride  themselves  with  living  by  hunting  animals,  look 
on  fish  as  an  inferior  food,  and  the  catching  of  them  beneath 
a  Hunter.  The  former  pride  themselves  on  being  expert 
anglers,  and  have  made  it  their  study ;  the  great  Lakes  of 
their  country  yield  the  finest  fish,  and  when  the  Deer  fail 
they  readily  take  to  angling,  altho'  it  affords  them  no  clothing. 
They  are  in  possession  of  many  secrets  of  making  baits  for 
taking  the  different  kinds  of  fish  ;  which  they  would  not 
impart  to  me ;  but  being  in  their  company  something  was 
seen.  The  bait  for  the  Trout,  the  largest  fish  of  the  Lakes, 
was  the  head  half  of  a  White  Fish,  well  rubbed  with  Eagles 
fat,  for  want  of  it,  other  raw  fat  ;  but  not  greese  that  had 
been  melted  by  the  fire  :    The  Pike  and  Pickerel  take  almost 


166      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

any  thing,  even  a  red  rag  ;  but  the  pride  of  these  people 
is  to  angle  the  White  Fish,  an  art  known  to  only  a  few  of 
the  Men  ;  they  would  not  inform  me  of  its  composition,  the 
few  baits  I  examined  appeared  to  be  all  the  same,  and 
the  castorum  of  the  Beaver  worked  into  a  thick  paste,  was 
the  principal  item  ;  around  were  the  fine  red  feathers  of  the 
Woodpecker,  a  grain  of  Eagles  fat  was  on  the  top  of  the 
bait,  and  the  hook  was  well  hid  in  it ;  the  bait  had  a  neat 
appearance.  The  art  of  angling  White  Fish  is  to  them  of 
importance,  a  young  man  offered  a  gun  for  the  secret  and  was 
refused. 

These  people,  the  "  Dinnae  "  their  native  name,  though 
better  known  to  us  by  the  name  of  Chepawyans ;  extend  in 
different  tribes  speaking  dialects  of  the  same  language,  to 
near  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  the  way  of  Fraser's  River  :  I  have 
already  mentioned,  they  claim  as  their  own  rightful  country, 
from  Churchill  Factory,  and  northward  to  the  arctic  sea, 
their  origin  by  this  account  of  themselves  must  have  been 
from  Greenland.  By  what  means  they  came  to  the  north 
eastern  part  of  this  conti[nent],  is  better  a  subject  of  dis- 
cussion in  the  Appendix  than  here  :  If  we  knew  the  state 
of  Archery  in  Greenland,  or  Iceland  it  might  lead  us  to 
something  certain  on  these  people ;  All  the  Natives  of  North 
America,  except  the  "  Dinnae  "  in  drawing  the  Arrow,  hold 
the  Bow  in  a  vertical,  or  upright  position,  which  gives  to 
the  arms  their  full  action  and  force  ;  but  the  Dinnae,  or 
Chepawyans,  hold  the  Bow  in  a  contrary,  or  horizontal 
position,  the  Arrow  is  held  on  the  string,  by  two  fingers 
below  and  the  thumb  above  and  with  the  Bow  string  thus 
drawn  to  the  breast,  which  does  not  allow  to  the  Bow  two 
thirds  of  its  force  ;  practice  has  made  them  good  marksmen, 
but  the  arrows  are  feeble  in  effect.  Do  any  of  the  people  of 
Greenland,  Iceland,  or  the  northern  nations  of  Europe,  or 
Siberia,  handle  the  Bow  in  this  manner.     If  so,  some  inference 


WINTER  AT   REIN   DEER  LAKE        167 

may  be  drawn  from  it.  Of  the  state  of  the  Thermometer, 
and  other  pecuharities  of  the  climate  they  will  be  found  in 
the  Appendix.^ 

^  In  Thompson's  note-books  are  many  pages  of  meteorological  observa- 
tions taken  at  various  places  throughout  western  Canada  ;  but  in  this 
manuscript  as  it  came  to  me,  there  was  no  appendix,  and  it  is  not  likely 
that  any  was  prepared. 


CHAPTER    X 

NORTH   WEST  COMPANY 

Leave  Hudson's  Bay  Company — Joiri  North  West  Company — 
Instructions  to  explore  the  country — Fur  Trade — Peter 
Pond — West  end  of  Lake  Athabasca — Philip  Tumor — 
Carrying  Place  of  Lake  Superior — Brigade — Start  on 
Survey — Height  of  Land — Sieux — Rainy  Lake — Rainy 
River  —  Massacre  —  Winipeg  River  —  Winipeg  Trading 
House — Lake  Winipeg. 

THE  countries  I  had  explored  was  under  the  sanction 
of  M"^  Joseph  Colen/  the  Resident  at  York  Factory 
the  most  enlightened  gentleman  who  had  filled  that 
situation  ;   by  a  Letter  from  him,  I  was  informed,  that  how- 

1  See  note  on  p.  56.  Joseph  Colen  seems  to  have  been  a  capable 
trader,  but  his  interests  were  centred  in  increasing  the  fur-trade  with  the 
Indians  who  came  to  York  Factory  of  their  own  accord,  rather  than 
following  these  Indians  to  their  hunting-grounds.  As  far  as  we  know, 
he  himself  never  went  inland  more  than  a  few  miles  from  the  trading 
post ;  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  being  urged  by  the  directors 
of  the  Company  in  London  to  have  the  great  unknown  spaces  to  the  south 
and  west  of  him  explored,  he  was  opposed  to  spending  men,  money,  and 
time  on  such  exploration.  His  orders  to  Thompson  that  he  should  stop 
surveying  were  therefore  directly  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his  superiors 
in  London.  It  is  impossible  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  his  recall  in  1798 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  prevented  Thompson  from  continuing 
his  explorations,  and  had  forced  him  out  of  the  Company's  service.  It  is 
possible  that  Thompson  may  not  have  known  of  Colen's  true  attitude  to- 
wards his  work,  and  that  he  may  have  thought  Colen  was  merely  trans- 
mitting to  him  the  orders  he  had  received  from  London  ;  or  possibly  the 
long  time  which  had  elapsed  between  the  date  when  Thompson  left  the 
Company,  and  that  when  he  wrote  his  memoirs,  had  mellowed  his  feelings 
towards  his  old  chief,  and  had  induced  him  to  write  the  kindly  remarks 
here  recorded. 

168 


NORTH   WEST   COMPANY  169 

ever  extensive  the  countries  yet  unknown  yet  he  could  not 
sanction  any  further  surveys.  My  time  was  up,  and  I  deter- 
mined to  seek  that  employment  from  the  Company  Mer- 
chants of  Canada,  carrying  on  the  Furr  Trade,  under  the 
name  of  the  North  West  Company  :  With  two  Natives  I 
proceeded  to  their  nearest  trading  House,  under  the  charge 
of  M"^  Alexander  Fraser ;  and  by  the  usual  route  of  the 
Canoes  arrived  at  the  Great  Carrying  Place  ^  on  the  north 
shore  of  Lake  Superior,  then  the  depot  of  the  merchandise 
from  Montreal ;  and  of  the  Furrs  from  the  interior  countries. 
The  Agents  who  acted  for  the  Company  and  were  also  Partners 
of  the  Firm,  were  the  Honorable  William  McGillvray'^  and 

*  The  Grand  Portage,  or  Great  Carrying  Place,  was  situated  on  the 
north  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  forty  miles  south-west  of  Fort  William. 
For  about  twenty-five  years  it  was  the  central  depot  of  the  Canadian 
traders  from  Montreal  who  had  associated  themselves  either  in  the 
North- West  Company  or  in  one  of  the  concerns  competing  with  it.  To 
this  place  the  goods  which  were  to  be  used  in  trading  with  the  Indians 
for  their  furs  were  brought  from  Montreal  either  in  large  canoes  or  in 
sail-boats  ;  and  the  furs  which  had  been  collected  in  the  interior  country 
to  the  west  of  it,  were  taken  back  to  Montreal  in  the  same  boats.  From 
the  shore  of  Lake  Superior  the  trading  goods  were  carried  over  a  path  or 
trail  nine  miles  in  length,  past  heavy  rapids  and  waterfalls  to  the  banks 
of  Pigeon  river,  where  they  were  loaded  into  smaller  canoes  in  charge  of 
resident  partners,  but  manned  by  Indians  or  half-breeds,  who  had  brought 
cargoes  of  furs  from  the  west  and  north,  and  who  now  took  back  with  them 
supplies  for  another  year.  After  the  signing  of  the  Treaty  of  London  in 
1794,  it  was  found  that  Grand  Portage  was  in  American  territory  ;  there- 
fore, in  1 80 1,  the  depot  was  moved  to  Fort  William.  Accordingly,  it 
was  to  Fort  William  that  Thompson  brought  his  furs  when  he  descended 
the  Saskatchewan  river  from  Rocky  Mountain  House  in  1802. 

2  William  McGillivray  was  a  Scotsman  who.  after  serving  for  several 
years  in  the  employ  of  the  North- West  Company  in  the  districts  of  Red 
and  English  rivers,  became  a  partner  in  the  concern  by  buying  Pond's 
share  for  the  sum  of  ;^8oo  ;  and  soon  became  one  of  its  most  influential 
members.  In  1814  he  was  appointed  a  Legislative  Councillor  of  Lower 
Canada  in  recognition  of  the  services  rendered  by  him  and  the  North- 
west Company  during  the  war  with  the  United  States  in  181 2.  With 
Edward  Ellice  he  represented  the  North-West  Company  in  the  negoti- 
ations for  a  union  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  it  was  largely 
through  his  tact  and  ability  that  this  union  was  brought  about  in  1821. 
His  later  years  were  spent  in  Scotland,  where  he  died  about  1825. 


170      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Sir  Alexander  McKenzie/  gentlemen  of  enlarged  views ;  the 
latter  had  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  the  Peace  River 
and  was  far  advanced  by  Fraser  River  towards  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  when  want  of  Provisions  and  the  hostility  of  the 
Natives  obliged  him  to  return.  From  the  Great  Slave  he 
had  explored  the  great  River  which  flowed  from  it  into  the 
Arctic  Sea,  and  which  is  justly  named  McKenzie's  River. 

My  arrival  enabled  these  Gentlemen  and  the  other 
Partners  who  were  present,  to  learn  the  true  positions  of 
their  Trading  Houses,  in  respect  to  each  other  ;  and  how 
situated  with  regard  to  the  forty  ninth  degree  of  Latitude 
North,  as  since  the  year  1792  this  parallel  of  Latitude  from 
the  north  west  corner  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  east 
foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  had  become  the  boundary  Hne 
between  the  British  Dominions  and  the  Territories  of  the 
United  States  :  instead  of  a  line  due  west  from  the  North 
west  corner  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  head  of  the 
Mississippe,  as  designated  by  the  Treaty  of  1783.^  The 
scource,  or  head  of  the  Mississippe  was  then  unknown  except 
to  the  Natives  and  a  very  few  Furr  Traders ;  and  by  them, 
from  it's  very  sinuous  course,  supposed  to  be  farther  north 
than  the  northern  banks  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  And 
wherever  I  could  mark  the  line  of  the  49**"  parallel  of  Latitude 
[I  was  told]  to  do  so,  especially  on  the  Red  River.     Also,  if 

^  Mackenzie's  name  is  too  well-known  to  need  much  comment  here. 
A  native  of  Stomoway  on  the  island  of  Lewis,  he  came  to  Canada  in  1779, 
went  to  the  country  west  of  Lake  Superior  in  1785,  and  became  a  partner 
in  the  North- West  Company  in  1787.  In  1789  he  descended  the  Mac- 
kenzie river  from  Lake  Athabaska  to  its  mouth,  and  in  1 793  he  ascended 
Peace  river  to  the  source  of  Parsnip  river,  and  thence  travelled  west- 
ward to  the  Pacific  ocean  at  the  mouth  of  Bella  Coola  river,  being  the 
first  white  man  to  cross  the  North  American  continent  north  of  Mexico, 
See  George  Bryce,  Life  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  Toronto,  1906  ("The 
Makers  of  Canada,"  vol.  viii). 

*  For  a  full  discussion  of  terms  of  the  treaties  affecting  the  boundary 
between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  the  awards  under  these 
treaties,  see  James  White,  "Boundary  Disputes  and  Treaties"  (in  Canada 
and  its  Provinces,  Toronto,  1913,  vol.  viii.  pp.  751-958). 


NORTH   WEST   COMPANY  171 

possible  to  extend  my  Surveys  to  the  Missisourie  River ; 
visit  the  villages  of  the  ancient  agricultural  Natives  who 
dwelt  there ;  enquire  for  fossil  bones  of  large  animals,  and 
any  monuments,  if  any,  that  might  throw  light  on  the  ancient 
state  of  the  unknown  countries  I  had  to  travel  over  and 
examine.  The  Agents  and  Partners  all  agreed  to  give  orders 
to  all  their  Trading  Posts,  to  send  Men  with  me,  and  every 
necessary  I  required  [was]  to  be  at  my  order. 

How  very  different  the  liberal  and  public  spirit  of  this 
North  West  Company  of  Merchants  of  Canada  ;  from  the 
mean  selfish  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  styled 
Honorable  ;  and  whom,  at  little  expense,  might  have  had 
the  northern  part  of  this  Continent  surveyed  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  greatly  extended  their  Trading  Posts  ;  whatever 
they  have  done,  the  British  Government  has  obliged  them 
to  do.  A  short  account  of  the  transactions  of  this  Company, 
will  prove  to  the  pubHc  the  truth  of  what  I  assert,  and  will 
throw  some  light  on  the  discoveries  that  from  time  to  time 
have  been  made. 

The  furr  trade  was  then  open  to  every  Person  in  Canada 
who  could  obtain  credit  for  a  canoe  load  of  coarse  Mer- 
chandise ;  and  several  different  Persons  engaged  in  this  trade, 
besides  those  Merchants  from  Scotland  who  formed  the 
North  West  Company :  Among  the  Clerks  of  this  last  Com- 
pany, was  a  M""  Peter  Pond,^  a  native  of  the  city  of  Boston, 

^  Peter  Pond  was  born  in  Milford,  Connecticut,  on  January  i8,  1740. 
When  a  young  man,  he  went  to  the  Indian  country  west  of  Lake  Superior. 
In  1775  he  joined  Alexander  Henry  and  the  Frobishers  on  Lake  Winni- 
peg, and  with  them  ascended  the  Saskatchewan  river  as  far  as  Cumber- 
land House.  In  1778  he  reached  Athabaska  river,  and  built  a  trading 
post  on  that  stream,  forty  miles  south  of  Lake  Athabaska,  which  he  was 
undoubtedly  the  first  white  man  to  visit.  Thompson  is  in  error  in  saying 
that  Pond's  post  was  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  Athabaska.  In  the  winter 
of  1780-81,  while  at  Lake  La  Ronge,  Pond  killed  his  partner  Wadin  ; 
and  six  years  later  he  killed  John  Ross,  one  of  the  partners  of  the  firm  of 
Gregory,  McLeod,  and  Company.  About  1790  he  sold  his  interest  in  the 
North- West  Company  and  went  to  the  United  States,  where  he  spent  the 
rest  of  his  life.     He  drew  two  maps  of  western  Canada,  apparently  in 


172      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

United  States.  He  was  a  person  of  industrious  habits,  a  good 
common  education,  but  of  a  violent  temper  and  unprincipled 
character  ;  his  place  was  at  Fort  Chepawyan  ^  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Athabasca  Lake,  where  he  wintered  three  years. 
At  Lake  Superior  he  procured  a  Compass,  took  the  courses 
of  the  compass  through  the  whole  route  to  his  wintering 
place ;  and  for  the  distances  adopted  those  of  the  Canadian 
canoe  men  in  Leagues,  and  parts  of  the  same,  and  sketching 
off  the  Lake  shores  the  best  he  could.  In  the  winters,  taking 
the  Depot  of  Lake  Superior  as  his  point  of  departure,  the 
Latitude  and  Longitude  was  known  as  determined  by  the 
French  Engineers ;  he  constructed  a  map  of  the  route 
followed  by  the  Canoes.  It's  features  were  tolerably  correct ; 
but  by  taking  the  League  of  the  Canoe  Men  for  three 
geographical  miles  (I  found  they  averaged  only  two  miles) 
he  increased  his  Longitude  so  much  as  to  place  the  Athabasca 
Lake,  at  it's  west  end  near  the  Pacific  Ocean.     A  copy  of 

1785  and  in  1790  respectively  ;  but  the  contents  of  these  maps  could  not 
have  been  known  before  George  Charles,  who  is  mentioned  below,  was 
sent  from.  London,  though  the  earlier  map  was  known  when  Philip  Turnor 
was  sent  to  survey  Lake  Athabaska  in  1791.  See  L.  J.  Burpee,  The  Search 
for  the  Western  Sea,  Toronto,  1908,  pp.  322-349  ;  and  Reports  of  the  Cana- 
dian Archives  for  1889  and  1890,  pp.  29-38  and  pp.  52-54  respectively. 

'  Fort  Chipewyan  is  at  present  situated  on  a  rocky  point  on  the  north 
shore,  and  near  the  western  end,  of  Lake  Athabaska.  The  first  fur-trading 
post  of  this  name  was  built  on  the  south  side  of  Lake  Athabaska  by 
Roderick  Mackenzie  in  1 788  ;  and  it  was  from  here  that  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie set  out  on  his  two  expeditions  to  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  oceans. 
But  the  post  was  moved  over  to  its  present  site  about  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  In  1802  Peter  Fidler,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
built  a  trading  post  beside  Fort  Chipewyan  (or  as  Thompson  called  it 
when  he  visited  it  in  May,  1804,  "  Athabasca  House  "),  and  named  it 
Nottingham  House.  Four  years  later,  however,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany abandoned  the  whole  of  the  Athabaska  district  to  their  Canadian 
rivals,  and  evacuated  Nottingham  House.  In  181 5  they  returned  to 
Lake  Athabaska,  and  established  a  post  called  Fort  Wedderbume  on 
Coal  Island,  some  little  distance  from  the  trading  store  of  the  North-West 
Company  ;  but  in  1821  the  two  companies  were  united,  and  the  site  and 
name  of  the  North- West  Company's  post  were  retained.  Fort  Chipewyan 
has  thus  been  continuously  occupied  now  for  more  than  a  century. 


NORTH   WEST   COMPANY  173 

this  Map  was  given  to  the  Agents  of  the  North  West  Com- 
pany ;  whom,  in  London  laid  it  before  Sir  Hugh  Dalrymple/ 
then  in  office,  whose  character  stood  high  as  a  gentleman  of 
science,  and  great  geographical  knowledge,  and  who  com- 
paring the  Longitude  of  the  west  end  of  the  Athabasca 
Lake  hy  M"  Pond's  map  with  the  Charts  of  Captain  Cook 
found  the  distance  to  be  only  one  hundred  miles ;  or  less, 
[and]  directly  conceived  that  it  offered  a  short  route  to  the 
coasts  of  Asia  for  dispatch  and  other  purposes.  To  verify 
this  Map,  the  Colonial  Secretary  applied  to  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  to  send  out  a  Person  duly  qualified  to  ascertain 
the  Latitude  and  Longitude  of  the  west  end  of  the  Athabasca 
Lake.  With  this  request  the  Company  were  obliged  to  appear 
to  comply. 

For  this  purpose  in  1785  they  sent  out  a  M"  George 
Charles  ^  aged  fifteen  years,  whom  they  had  made  their 
apprentice  for  seven  years  ;  when  he  landed  at  Churchill 
Factory  I  saw  him,  and  enquired  how  he  came  to  undertake 
this  business,  he  told  me  he  had  been  about  one  year  in  the 
mathematical  school,  had  three  times  with  a  quadrant  brought 
down  the  Sun  to  a  chalk  line  on  the  wall,  was  declared  fuUy 
competent,  and  sent  out  to  go  on  discovery.  Of  course 
nothing  could  be  done.  Had  this  honourable  Company  in- 
tended the  position  of  the  west  end  of  the  Lake  should  be 
known,  there  were  then  many  Naval  Officers  on  half  pay, 
who  would  gladly  have  undertaken  the  expedition  to  the 
Athabasca  Lake  and  settled  it's  position.  What  the  views  of 
the  Company  could  be  for  preventing  the  knowledge  re- 
quired, though  often  a  subject  of  conversation,  none  could 
divine,  their  charter  gave  them  the  Country,  and  the  furr 
traders  of  Canada  had  had  Houses  there  for  several  years. 

Whatever  the  views  of  the  Company  may  have  been,  this 
trick  of  sending  out  a  Lad,  prevented  the  CoUonial  Office 

*  This  is  an  error  for  Alexander  Dalrymple.     See  note  on  p.  28. 

*  See  note  on  p.  27. 


174     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

from  obtaining  the  desired  information  for  five  years.  The 
pressing  demands  of  this  Office  then  obliged  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  to  engage  a  Gentleman  fully  competent,  a  Mr 
PhiHp  Turnor/  one  of  the  compilers  of  the  Nautical  Almanac, 
who,  in  the  year  1790  proceeded  to  Fort  Chepawyan  at  the 
west  end  of  the  Athabasca  Lake,  and  head  of  the  Great  Slave 
River,  where  he  wintered,  and  by  observations,  found  the 
place  to  be  in  Latitude  .  .  .  Longitude  ^  .  .  .  and  from  this 
place  the  following  year  returned  to  England ;  After  this 
great  exertion  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  they  again 
became  dormant  to  the  time  of  Captain  FrankHn's  survey  of 
the  Arctic  Coast  from  the  Copper  Mine  River.* 

1  See  note  on  p.  146. 

2  Tumor's  latitude  and  longitude  are  given  by  Thompson  in  his  notes 
as  58°  38'  N..  110°  26|'  W. 

'  In  1 81 9  Captain  (afterwards  Sir  John)  Franklin  was  sent  in  charge 
of  a  party  from  England  to  explore  the  Arctic  coast  of  America,  east  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  river.  With  him  were  Sir  John  Richardson, 
Sir  George  Back,  and  Lieutenant  Hood  as  assistants.  They  went  to  York 
Factory  on  Hudson  Bay  by  ship,  and  ascended  the  Hayes  and  Saskat- 
chewan rivers  to  Cumberland  House  by  boat  before  the  winter  set  in.  In 
January,  1820,  Franklin  and  Back  proceeded  on  foot  to  Fort  Chipewyan 
on  Lake  Athabaska,  while  Richardson  and  Hood  followed  them  in  canoes 
as  soon  as  the  rivers  were  free  of  ice,  and  arrived  at  the  fort  on  July  13. 
From  there  the  whole  party  descended  the  Slave  river,  crossed  Great 
Slave  lake,  and  ascended  Yellowknife  river,  near  the  source  of  which  it 
went  into  winter  quarters,  and  built  houses  which  Franklin  called  "  Fort 
Enterprise."  In  the  summer  of  1821  the  party  descended  and  made  a 
survey  of  the  Coppermine  river  to  its  mouth,  surveyed  the  Arctic  coast 
eastward  to  the  mouth  of  Hood's  river,  and  thence  crossed  overland  to 
Fort  Enterprise,  suffering  terrible  hardships  from  exposure  and  starvation, 
both  on  the  way  to,  and  after  their  arrival  at,  the  fort,  one  of  the  men  being 
driven  to  such  extremities  by  starvation  that  he  killed  Lieutenant  Hood. 
The  following  year  the  survivors  returned  to  York  Factory,  and  thence  to 
England.  In  1825  it  was  determined  to  continue  the  exploration  of  the 
northern  coast  of  America  east  and  west  from  the  mouth  of  Mackenzie 
river,  and  Captain  Franklin  was  again  given  charge  of  the  expedition. 
On  this  occasion  he  sailed  from  London  to  New  York.  Thence  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Fort  William  on  Lake  Superior,  and  from  there  by  Lake  Winni- 
peg to  the  Mackenzie  river,  and  down  that  stream  to  the  mouth  of  Great 
Bear  river,  which  was  ascended  to  Great  Bear  lake,  on  the  north  shore 
of  which  Fort  Franklin  was  built.     Here  the  party  wintered.     In  1826 


NORTH   WEST   COMPANY  175 

M'  Peter  Pond  I  have  mentioned  as  an  unprincipled  man 
of  a  violent  charac[ter]  ;  he  became  implicated  in  the  death 
of  a  M'  Ross,^  a  furr  trader,  and  afterwards  [was]  a  principal 
in  the  murder  of  a  Mr  Wadden,^  another  furr  trader ;  for 
this  latter  crime  he  was  brought  from  the  Athabasca  Lake 
to  Canada,  and  sent  to  Quebec  to  be  tried  for  the  murder 
he  had  committed  ;  but  the  Law  authorities  did  not  con- 
sider the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Quebec  to  extend  into 
the  territories  of  the  Hudsons  Bay  Company,  and  therefore 
they  could  not  take  cognizance  of  the  crime,  and  he  was  set 
at  liberty  ;  he  went  to  his  native  city,  Boston.  This  was  in 
1782.  The  following  year  peace  was  made  ;  the  Commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  were  two  honest  well 
meaning  gentlemen,  but  who  knew  nothing  of  the  geography 
of  the  countries  interior  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  Maps  they 
had  to  guide  them  were  wretched  compilations.  One  of  them, 
of  which  I  had  a  fellow  Map,  was  Farren's  [Faden's]  dated 

the  party  descended  the  Mackenzie  river  to  its  mouth,  where  it  divided, 
FrankUn  and  Back  going  westward  along  the  Arctic  coast  as  far  as  Point 
Beechey,  while  Richardson  and  Kendall  went  eastward  along  the  coast 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  river,  and  thence  ascended  that  stream 
and  crossed  country  to  Fort  Franklin,  where  a  second  winter  was  spent. 
The  following  year  Franklin  and  Richardson  returned  to  England  by 
New  York,  while  Back  took  the  remainder  of  the  party  to  England  by 
York  Factory. 

1  John  Ross  was  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Gregory,  McLeod,  and  Com- 
pany in  charge  of  the  Athabaska  department,  where  he  was  opposed  by 
Peter  Pond  of  the  North-West  Company.  The  two  men  did  not  get  on 
well  together,  and  in  an  altercation  during  the  winter  of  1786-7  Ross  was 
shot.  This  murder  caused  the  two  opposing  firms  to  unite  their  interests 
under  the  name  of  the  North-West  Company. 

^  Wadin  also  fell  before  Pond.  Roderick  Mackenzie  says  that  he  was 
"  a  Swiss  gentleman,  of  strict  probity  and  known  sobriety,"  who  went  to 
Lake  La  Ronge  in  1 779  to  engage  in  the  fur  trade.  In  the  following  year 
Pond  was  sent  to  the  same  place  to  act  in  conjunction  with  him.  "  About 
the  end  of  the  year  1780,  or  the  beginning  of  1781,  Mr.  Wadin  had  re- 
ceived Mr.  Pond  and  one  of  his  friends  to  dinner,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
night  the  former  was  shot  through  the  lower  part  of  the  thigh,  when  it 
was  said  that  he  expired  from  loss  of  blood"  (Alexander  Mackenzie, 
Voyages,  London,  1801,  Introduction,  p.  xvi). 


176      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

1773,  which  went  as  far  as  Lake  Ontario,  and  to  the  middle 
of  this  Lake,  beyond  which,  the  interior  countries  were  repre- 
sented composed  of  Rocks  and  Swamps  and  laid  down  as  unin- 
habitable. Mitchell's  Map  was  the  best.  Such  Maps  gave  M"^ 
Peter  Pond  who  was  personally  acquainted  with  those  coun- 
tries every  advantage.  A  boundary  line  through  the  middle 
of  Lake  Champlain,  and  thence  due  west  would  have  been 
accepted  at  that  time  by  the  United  [States]  for  it  was  more 
than  they  could  justly  claim,  had  a  gentleman  of  abiHties 
been  selected  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  but  at  that  time 
North  America  was  held  in  contempt.  To  the  United  States 
Commissioners  M""  Pond  designated  a  Boundary  Line  passing 
through  the  middle  of  the  S'  Lawrence  to  Lake  Superior, 
through  that  lake  and  the  interior  countries  to  the  north 
west  corner  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  ;  and  thence  westward 
to  the  head  of  the  Missisourie  ^  being  twice  the  area  of  the 
Territory  the  States  could  justly  claim ;  This  exorbitant 
demand  the  British  Commissioners  accepted  ;  and  [it]  was 
confirmed  by  both  Nations.  Such  was  the  hand  that  desig- 
nated the  Boundary  Line  between  the  Dominions  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  Territories  of  the  United  States.  The 
celebrated  Edmund  Burke,  said,  and  has  left  on  record, 
"  There  is  a  fatahty  attending  all  the  measures  of  the  British 
Ministry  on  the  North  American  Colonies."  This  sad,  but 
just  remark  has  been  exemplified  in  every  transaction  we 
have  had  with  the  United  States  on  Territory  ;  and  in  this 
respect  Lord  Ashburton  was  outwitted  by  M"^  Daniel  Webster 
at  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  both  in  New  Brunswick,  and 
the  interior  of  Canada. 

It  may  be  said,  the  country  thus  acquired  by  the  United 
States  is  of  no  importance  to  England  ;  be  it  so  ;  then  let 
England  make  a  free  gift  to  the  States  of  what  the  latter 
require.     History  will   place   all  these   transactions   in   their 

'  This  is  a  mistake  for  the  Mississippi. 


NORTH   WEST   COMPANY  177 

proper  light,  and  the  blockhead  treaty  of  Lord  Ashburton^ 
will  be  a  subject  of  ridicule. 

The  south  east  end  of  the  Great  Carrying,  was  in  a  small 
Bay  of  Lake  Superior,  in  Latitude  47 .  58  . 1  N.  Longitude 
89  .  44 .  20  W  of  Greenwich.  It  was  then,  and  had  been  for 
several  years,  the  Depot  of  the  Furr  Traders ;  to  this  place 
the  Canoes  from  Montreal  came,  each  carrying  forty  to  forty 
five  pieces  of  merchandise,  including  spirituous  liquors ;  each 
piece  of  the  weight  of  ninety  to  one  hundred  pounds ;  these 
canoes  then  were  loaded  with  the  packs  of  furrs,  the  produce 
of  the  winter  trade  of  the  interior  countries,  and  returned  to 
Montreal ;  The  Merchandise  for  the  winter  trade  of  the 
distant  trading  Posts  was  here  assorted,  and  made  up  in  pieces 
each  weighing  ninety  pounds  ;  the  Canoes  were  of  a  less 
size,  and  the  load  was  twenty  five  pieces,  besides  the  pro- 
visions for  the  voyage  and  the  baggage  of  the  Men  :  being  a 
weight  of  about  2900  pounds,  to  which  add  five  Men,  the 
weight  a  canoe  carries  will  be  3700  pounds. 

These  Canoes  are  formed  into  what  are  called  Brigades  of 
four  to  eight  Canoes  for  the  different  sections  of  the  interior 
countries.  On  board  of  one  of  these  canoes,  of  a  Brigade  of 
four  under  the  charge  of  M""  Hugh  McGillis,^  I  embarked  on 

^  The  Ashburton  Treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  in  1842  defined  the  boundary  hne  between  the  possessions  of  the 
two  countries  from  New  Brunswick  and  the  State  of  Maine  westward  as 
far  as  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  subsequent  Oregon 
Treaty  signed  at  Washington  in  1846  defined  the  boundary  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  westward  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 

*  At  the  time  when  Thompson  joined  the  North-West  Company,  Hugh 
McGilhs  was  one  of  the  senior  employees  of  the  company,  and  was  in  charge 
of  the  Swan  river  district.  When  the  Company  was  reorganized  in  1802, 
he  became  one  of  the  partners,  holding  two  shares,  and  when  the  North- 
West  and  X  Y  Companies  united  in  1804,  he  was  one  of  those  who  signed 
the  agreement  by  attorney.  During  the  winter  of  1805-06,  when  Lieu- 
tenant Pike  reached  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi,  he  was  in  charge 
of  a  post  at  Leech  lake.  Later,  his  name  appears  as  one  of  those  officials 
of  the  North-West  Company  taken  prisoners  by  Lord  Selkirk  at  Fort 
William  in  1816. 

M 


178      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  ninth  day  of  August,  in  the  year   1796,  for  the  survey 
of  the  southern  sections. 

My  instruments  were,  a  Sextant  of  ten  inches  radius, 
with  Quicksilver  and  parallel  glasses,  an  excellent  Achromatic 
Telescope  ;  a  lesser  for  common  use  ;  drawing  instruments, 
and  two  Thermometers ;  all  made  by  DoUond.  We  pro- 
ceeded over  the  Great  Carrying  Place,  the  length  of  which  is 
eight  miles  and  twenty  yards  in  a  north  west  direction  to  the 
Pigeon  River,^  which  is  about  three  hundred  feet  above  Lake 
Superior  :  this  was  carried  over  by  the  Men  in  five  day's 
hard  labor.  From  this  to  the  Height  of  Land  the  distance 
is  thirty  eight  miles,  including  twelve  carrying  places,  of  five 
and  a  half  miles  of  carriage,  which  makes  severe  labor  for  the 
canoe  men  :  A  short  distance  south  eastward  of  the  Height 
of  Land  in  the  crevices  of  a  steep  rock,  about  twenty  feet 
above  the  water  of  a  small  Lake,  are  a  number  of  Arrows 
which  the  Sieux  Indians  shot  from  their  Bows  ;  the  Arrows 
are  small  and  short.  The  Chippaways,  the  Natives  say : 
these  Arrows  are  the  voice  of  the  Sieux  and  tell  us,  "  We 
have  come  to  war  on  you,  and  not  finding  you,  we  leave  these 
in  the  rocks  in  your  country,  with  which  we  hoped  to  have 
pierced  your  bodies."  This  was  about  the  year  1730.  These 
Indians  the  Sieux  Nation  ^  are  yet  a  powerful  nation,  and  their 

^  This  is  a  small  stream  about  forty  miles  in  length  which  flows  into 
the  north-western  side  of  Lake  Superior.  Throughout  its  length  it  forms 
the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

*  The  Sioux  are  essentially  Indians  of  the  great  plains  and  prairies, 
and  have  always  been  among  the  most  powerful  of  the  tribes  on  the  North 
American  continent.  They  appear  to  have  been  centred  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  to  have  occasionally  ex- 
tended north-eastward  to  Lake  Winnipeg  and  Lake  of  the  Woods,  and 
northward  to  the  Saskatchewan  river.  The  division  of  the  Sioux  family 
which  is  most  conspicuous  in  western  Canadian  history,  consists  of 
the  Assiniboin  or  Stonies,  who  appear  to  have  separated  themselves 
from  the  other  Sioux  tribes  some  time  before  the  advent  of  the  whites, 
and  to  have  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Crce  to  the  north  of  them,  after 
which  they  were  constantly  at  war  with  the  Sioux  to  the  south  of  them. 
At  the  present  time  the  total  number  of  Assiniboin  in  western  Canada 
is  about  1,400. 


NORTH   WEST   COMPANY  179 

present  hunting  grounds  are  between  the  Mississippe  and 
Missisourie  Rivers  and  [they]  now  make  use  of  Horses  instead 
of  Canoes. 

The  Height  of  Land  is  in  Latitude  48  . 6 .  43  N  Longitude 
90.  43  .  38  W  and  Variation  six  degrees  East,  and  is  the  dividing 
ridge  of  land  from  which  the  Streams  run  southeastward  into 
Lake  Superior,  and  north  eastward  into  Lake  Winepeg,  and 
from  thence  into  Hudson's  Bay. 

The  country  so  far,  is  at  present,  of  no  value  to  the  farmer, 
time  may  do  something  for  it  as  a  grazing  country,  from  it's 
many  Brooks  and  small  Lakes  of  clear  water. 

The  country  now  declines  to  the  North  eastward  with 
many  small.  Streams,  which  form  a  fine  River.  The  first 
place  worth  notice  is  the  Rainy  Lake,  a  fine  body  of  water  of 
nineteen  miles  in  length,  out  of  which  falls  the  Rainy  River 
by  a  descent  of  about  ten  feet  ;  close  below  which  is  a  trading 
House  of  the  North  [West]  Company  in  Latitude  48  .  36 .  58  N 
Longitude  93  •  19  •  30  W.^  The  distance  from  the  Height  of 
Land  is  one  hundred  and  seventeen  miles  the  country  im- 
proving, and  in  several  places  good  Farms  can  be  made.  The 
Rainy  River  is  a  fine  stream  of  water  of  about  200  yards  in 
breadth,  with  only  one  Rapid,  at  which  in  the  season,  many 
fine  Sturgeon  are  speared  by  the  Natives.  The  length  of 
the  river  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  is  50-i-  miles.  This  is  the 
finest  river  in  this  country.  The  banks  present  the  appear- 
ance of  a  country  that  can  be  cultivated  but  those  acquainted 
with  it,  think  the  rock  too  near  the  surface.  The  Lake  of 
the  Woods  is  in  length  32^-  miles  with  many  bays,  its  area 
may  be  about  800  square  miles,  with  many  islets.  The  north 
eastern  shores  are  of  granite  ;  it's  western  of  limestone  ;  and 
[it]  touches  on  the  great  western  alluvials. 

1  The  post  which  was  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  •Cv^as  known  after 
the  union  of  the  North-West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies  as  Fort 
Frances,  having  been  so  called  after  the  wife  of  Sir  George  Simpson, 
the  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 


180      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

It  seems  that  when  the  French  from  Canada  first  entered 
these  furr  countries,  every  summer  a  Priest  came  to  instruct 
the  Traders  and  their  men  in  their  rehgious  duties,  and 
preach  to  them  and  the  Natives  in  Latin,  it  being  the  only 
language  the  Devil  does  not  understand  and  cannot  learn  : 
He  had  collected  about  twenty  Men  with  a  few  of  the  Natives 
upon  a  small  Island,  of  rock;  and  while  instructing  them,  a 
large  war  party  of  Sieux  Indians  came  on  them  and  began  the 
work  of  death  ;  not  one  escaped  ;  whilst  this  was  going  on, 
the  Priest  kept  walking  backwards  and  forwards  on  a  level 
rock  of  about  fifty  yards  in  length,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  his 
book,  without  seeming  to  notice  them ;  at  length  as  he 
turned  about,  one  of  them  sent  an  arrow  through  him  and 
he  fell  dead.  At  this  deed  the  rocky  isle  trembled  and 
shook ;  the  Sieux  Indians  became  afraid,  and  they  retired 
without  stripping  the  dead,  or  taking  their  scalps.  These 
Isles,  of  which  there  are  three,  are  to  this  day  called  "  The 
Isles  of  the  dead  "  (Les  isles  aux  Morts)  Such  was  the  rela- 
tion an  old  Canadian  gave  me,  and  which  he  said  he  had 
learned  of  the  Furr  Traders  who  then  resided  among  those 
Indians. 

The  Lake  of  the  Woods  is  memorable  for  being  by  every 
treaty  the  north  western  boundary  of  the  Dominions  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  Territories  of  the  United  States. 
This  Lake  may  be  said  to  be  the  most  southern  Lake  of  the 
Stony  Region  that  has  limestone  shores  at  it's  west  end,  the 
north  and  eastern  parts  like  the  other  Lake,  have  the  shores 
and  banks  of  granite,  greenstone  and  clay  slate.  This  Lake, 
by  several  Falls  sends  out  the  River  Winepeg  (Sea  River)  in 
a  north  western  direction  into  Lake  Winepeg.  It  is  a  bold 
deep  Stream  of  about  three  hundred  yards  in  width,  it  has 
many  isles  and  channels,  the  whole  is  of  granite  formation. 
By  the  course  of  the  River  it's  length  is  125  miles ;  In  this 
distance  there  are  thirty  two  Falls,  with  as  many  carrying 
places,   the   total   length  of   which   is   three  miles.      At   it's 


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NORTH    WEST   COMPANY  181 

sortie  into  Lake  Winepeg  is  a  trading  House  ^  first  established 
by  the  French  and  kept  up  by  the  North  West  Company  : 
in  Latitude  50  .  37  .  46  N  Longitude  95  •  39  •  34  W  Variation 
nine  degrees  east.  The  whole  extent  of  country  from  Lake 
Superior  to  this  House  can  support,  comparatively,  to  the 
extent  of  country,  but  few  Natives,  who  are  of  the  Chippeway 
Tribe  ;  the  country  never  could  have  been  rich  in  animals  ; 
and  has  long  been  exhausted  :  the  Deer  is  almost  unknown, 
and  but  few  furr  bearing  animals  remain ;  the  principal 
support  of  the  Natives  is  the  fish  of  the  Lakes,  of  which  are 
Sturgeon,'^  White  Fish,^  Pike,"*  PickereP  and  Carp,^  the  quality 
good.  The  greatest  use  of  the  Winepeg  House  is  for  a  depot 
of  Provisions,  which  are  brought  to  this  place  by  the  canoes 
and  boats  from  the  Bison  countries  of  the  Red  and  Saskat- 
chewan Rivers,  and  distributed  to  the  canoes  and  boats  for 
the  voyages  to  the  several  wintering  furr  trading  Houses. 
Lake  Winepeg''  (or  the  Sea)  so  called  by  the  Natives  from  it's 

1  This  trading  post,  first  known  as  Fort  Maurepas,  was  founded  in 
1734  by  one  of  the  sons  of  La  Verendrye  on  the  north  side  of  the  Winnipeg 
river,  some  Uttle  distance  above  its  mouth.  When  the  French  left  the 
country  the  post  was  abandoned  ;  but  in  1792  Toussaint  Lesieur,  one  of 
the  employees  of  the  North-West  Company,  built  a  post,  which  is  now 
called  Fort  Alexander,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  and  a  few  miles  lower 
down  the  stream  than  the  old  French  fort.  Gabriel  Franch^re,  who 
passed  this  place  in  181 4  on  his  way  east  from  the  Columbia  river,  wrote 
of  it,  "  This  trading  post  had  more  the  air  of  a  large  and  well-cultivated 
farm,  than  a  fur-traders'  factory  ;  a  neat  and  elegant  mansion,  built  on  a 
slight  eminence,  and  surrounded  with  barns,  stables,  storehouses,  &c., 
and  by  fields  of  barley,  peas,  oats,  and  potatoes." 

'^  Acipenser  rubicundus  Le  Sueur.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  Coregonus.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Esox  lucius  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Stizostedion  vitreum  (Mitchill).     [E.  A.  P.] 

"  Suckers,  probably  Catostomus  catostomus  (Forster),  and  Moxostoma 
lesueuri  (Richardson).     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  Lake  Winnipeg  is  one  of  the  great  inland  seas  of  Canada,  having  a 
length  of  260  miles  and  a  total  area  of  9,414  square  miles.  It  is  thus 
considerably  larger  than  Lake  Ontario,  and  only  500  square  miles  less 
than  Lake  Erie.  It  lies  in  a  general  south-east  and  north-west  direction, 
its  north-eastern  shore  being  composed  of  granite  and  similar  plutonic 


182      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

size,  is  of  the  form  of  a  rude  Paraelelogram ;  and  it's  geological 
structure  is  the  same  as  that  of  all  the  Lakes  northward  and 
westward ;  its  eastern  shores  and  banks  are  of  the  granitic 
order ;  the  north  side  mostly  high  banks  of  earth ;  the  west 
side  is  low,  the  shores,  and  the  isles  wholly  of  limestone  :  On 
the  west  side,  in  it's  southern  bay,  it  receives  the  Red  River 
distant  from  the  Winepeg  House  forty  two  miles.  North- 
ward of  the  same  bay  [is]  the  Dauphine  River ;  at  its  north 
west  corner  the  Saskatchewan  River,  besides  other  lesser 
streams  on  it's  west  and  east  sides,  all  which  enlarge  the 
Saskatchewan,  which  flows  out  at  the  north  east  corner  of 
the  Lake  in  Latitude  53  .  43  .  45  N  Longitude  98  .  31  .0  West. 
The  length  of  the  west  side  of  this  lake  from  the  Winepeg 
House  to  the  sortie  of  the  Saskatchewan  River  into  the  lake 
is  231  miles,  N  36  W  and  it's  east  side  is  about  217  miles  ; 
the  north  side  45  miles  and  the  south  side  about  the  same  : 
and  including  its  isles,  [it]  has  an  area  of  about  10,080  square 
miles.  The  woods  all  around  this  Lake  are  small,  with  many 
branches,  in  winter  the  climate  is  severe  ;  and  there  [are]  very 
few  deer,  and  other  animals ;  but  the  fish  are  good,  and  it's 
isles  in  the  summer  season  are  covered  with  the  nests  of  the 
common  Gull,^  the  eggs  of  which  are  nearly  as  good  as  those 
of  our  common  Fowls ;  There  are  but  few  natives  about  this 
Lake,  and  they  lead  a  hard  life. 

rocks,  while  on  its  south-western  shores  are  long  low-lying  areas  of  clay 
land  skirted  with  beaches  of  sand,  gravel,  or  boulders,  above  which  occa- 
sionally rise  cliffs  of  horizontally  stratified  limestone.  Considering  its 
great  size  the  lake  is  shallow.  Whitefish  of  excellent  quality  and  flavour 
are  particularly  abundant  in  it,  and  great  numbers  are  caught  every  year. 
The  name  is  an  Algonquin  one,  meaning  bad  water,  and  is  properly  ap- 
plied by  the  Indians  to  Hudson  Bay  with  its  salt  undrinkable  water. 
The  original  Algonquin  name  is  "  the  Great  Lake,"  and  I  have  not  been 
able  to  learn  how  the  name  "  Bad  Water  Lake  "  became  applied  to  it,  but 
probably  it  was  through  an  imperfect  understanding  by  the  white  pioneers 
of  the  information  supplied  them  by  the  Indians. 
1  Larus  argentatus  Pontoppidan.     [E.  A.  P.] 


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CHAPTER    XI 

GREAT  PLAINS 

Great  Plains — Low  range  of  hills — Animals  of  the  Hills — 
Squirrels — Field  Mice — Animals  of  the  Plains — Bison — 
Manner  of  hunting  Bisons — Pounding  Bisons — Plains  on 
Fire — Wolves — Red  Deer — Jumping  Deer — Antelope — 
Badger — Climate — Mississourie  River — Snags — Bow  River 
— Coal — Mammoth. 


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ITHERTO  the  Reader  has  been  confined  to  the 
sterile  Stony  Region  and  the  great  Valley  of  the 
Lakes.  My  travels  will  now  extend  over  countries 
of  a  very  different  formation  ;  these  are  [called]  the  Great 
Plains  as  a  general  name,  and  are  supposed  to  be  more  ancient 
than  the  Stony  Region  and  the  great  Valley  of  the  Lakes. 

By  a  Plain  I  mean  lands  bearing  grass,  but  too  short  for 
the  Scythe  ;  where  the  grass  is  long  enough  for  the  Scythe, 
and  of  which  Hay  can  be  made,  I  name  [them]  meadows. 
These  Great  Plains  may  be  said  to  commence  at  the  north 
side  of  the  Gulph  of  Mexico,  and  extend  northward  to  the 
latitude  of  fifty  four  degrees  ;  where  these  plains  are  bounded 
by  the  Forests  of  the  north,  which  extend  unbroken  to  the 
arctic  Sea.  On  the  east  they  are  bounded  by  the  Mississippe 
River,  and  northward  of  which  by  the  valley  of  the  lakes  ; 
and  on  the  west  by  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  length  of 
these  Plains  from  South  to  North  is  1240  miles ;  and  the 
breadth  from  east  to  west  to  the  foot  of  the  Mountains, 
from  550  to  800  miles  giving  an  area  to  the  Great  Plains  of 

1,031,500  square  miles,  in  which  space  the  Ozark  Hills  are 

183 


184      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

included.  The  perpetual  snows  and  Glaciers  of  the  Moun- 
tains, which  everywhere  border  the  west  side  of  these  Plains, 
furnish  water  to  form  many  Rivers ;  all  these  south  of  the 
latitude  of  forty  nine  degrees  flow  into  the  Mississippe  River, 
the  most  northern  of  which  is  the  Missisourie  River.  Close 
northward  of  the  scources  of  the  Missisourie,  are  the  south 
branches  of  the  Saskatchewan  River,^  which  descends  to 
Hudson's  Bay.  The  next  great  Rivers  northward  are  the 
Athabasca  and  Peace  Rivers,  which  with  other  lesser  streams 
form  McKenzie's  River,  which  empties  itself  into  the  Arctic 
Sea.  It  may  be  remarked  among  other  great  differencies 
between  the  Stoney  Region  and  the  Great  Plains,  that  all 
the  Rivers  of  the  former  Region,  or  that  pass  through  it, 
meet  with,  and  also  form  many  Lakes  and  Falls,  while  all 
the  Rivers  in  their  courses  through  the  Great  Plains,  and  the 
northward  forest  lands,  do  not  form  a  single  Lake.  Thus  the 
three  great  Rivers  of  North  America  enter  different  seas.  The 
Mississippe  from  Latitude  47  .  39 .  15  N  Longitude  95  .  12  .  45 
running  about  S.  by  E.  into  the  gulph  of  Mexico  in  Latitude 
.  .  .  Longitude.  .  .  .^  The  Saskatchewan  rising  in  Latitude 
51  .  48  .  25  N.  Longitude  116  .  45  .  13  W  running  NE  ward  into 
Hudson's  Bay  in  Latitude  57.6  North  Longitude  91  .  20  W 
and  McKenzie's  River,  it's  great  southern  branch  rising  in 
Latitude  52  .  20  N  Longitude  1 18  .  o  .  o  W  running  NNE  ward 
into  the  sea  in  Latitude  .   .   .  Longitude  .   .   .^ 

So  different  are  the  courses  of  these  Rivers  on  the  same 
side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  which  they  take  their 
rise ;  and  on  entering  the  different  seas  into  which  they 
discharge  their  waters,  they  all  appear  of  about  equal  magni- 

*  The  Indian  name  for  this  river  is  Kissiskatchewan,  or  swift-flowing 
river,  but  the  fur-traders  shortened  the  word  by  leaving  out  the  first 
syllable. 

*  The  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  is  in  latitude  29°  N.,  longitude  89°  W. 

3  The  Mackenzie  river  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Arctic  sea  through 
many  channels,  but  the  mean  position  of  its  mouth  might  be  taken  as 
latitude  69*  N.,  and  longitude  135"  W. 


GREAT   PLAINS  185 

tude.  The  east  side  of  these  Great  Plains  have  a  fine  appear- 
ance, the  soil  is  rich,  with  many  extensive  Meadows.  A 
range  of  fine  low  HiUs  sufficiently  well  wooded,  with  many 
springs  of  fine  water  and  Rivulets,  which  for  small  Rivers 
navigable  to  Canoes  and  Boats  as  the  Dauphine,  Swan,  Mouse, 
and  Stone  Indian  Rivers,  with  several  Rivulets  all  flowing 
through  a  rich  soil.  The  Hills  are  the  Turtle  Hill,  the  most 
southern,  and  not  far  from  the  Missisourie  River.  The  next 
northward  are  the  Hair,  the  Nut,  the  Touchwood,  the 
Dauphine,  the  Eagle,  and  the  Forrest  Hills.  The  west  side  of 
these  Hills,  as  seen  from  the  Plains  have  gentle  elevations  of 
about  two  hundred  feet ;  but  as  seen  from  the  eastward, 
present  an  elevation  of  five  to  eight  hundred  feet  above  the 
common  level,  and  have  very  fine  Forrests  of  well  grown  trees 
of  Birch,^  several  kinds  of  Pine,"  Poplar,^  Aspin,*  and  small 
Ash^  and  Oaks.^  These  Hills  are  the  favourite  resort  of  the 
Moose '  and  the  Red  Deer,^  with  two  or  three  species  of  the 
Antelope.®  The  Black,  Brown,  and  Yellow  Bears  ^°  feed  on 
the  Berries,  the  Nuts  and  any  thing  else  they  can  catch  ;  one 
of  them  was  shot  that  was  guarding  part  of  an  Antelope, 
which  he  had  killed  and  partly  eaten  ;  how  this  clumsy  brute 
could  have  caught  so  fleet  an  animal  as  the  Antelope  was  a 
matter  of  wonder.  The  Bears  lay  up  nothing  for  their  sub- 
sistence in  winter,  and  are  then  mostly  dormant.  As  we 
travelled  through  the  fine  forests  we  were  often  amazed  with 

1  Betula  papyrifera  Marsh.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Besides  the  Banksian  Pine,  Pinus  divaricata  (Ait.),  the  spruces  are 
probably  included.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  Populus  balsamifera  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Populus  tremuloides  Michx.     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Fraxinus.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Quercus  macrocarpa  Michx.     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Alces  americanus  (Clinton).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Cervus  canadensis  Erxleben.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  There   is   only   one   species,   Antilocapra   americana   Ord.      Perhaps 
Thompson  here,  as  elsewhere,  includes  Deer  (Odocoileus) .     [E.  A.  P.] 

*"  The  Black  Bear,  Ursus  americanus  Pallas,  and  formerly  the  Grizzly 
Bear,  Ursus  horribilis  Ord.     [E.  A.  P.] 


186      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  activity  of  the  Squirrels  ^  collecting  hazel  nuts  for  their 
supply  in  winter,  and  of  which  each  collects  more  than  a 
bushel,  whereas  the  Squirrels"  of  the  Pine  Forests  of  the  north 
seem  to  lay  up  nothing,  but  are  out  every  day  feeding  on  the 
cones  of  the  White  Pine.^  The  Field  Mice  "*  are  also  equally 
active  in  laying  in  store  provisions  for  the  winter.  The 
cHmate  is  good,  the  winters  about  five  months,  the  summers 
are  warm,  and  autumn  has  many  fine  days.  The  soil  is  rich 
and  deep,  and  [there  is]  much  vegetable  mould  from  the 
annual  decay  of  the  leaves  of  the  Forest  Trees,  and  the  grass  of 
the  Meadows  :  CiviHzation  will  no  doubt  extend  over  these 
low  hills ;  they  are  well  adapted  for  raising  of  cattle  ;  and 
when  the  wolves  are  destroyed,  also  for  sheep  ;  and  agri- 
culture will  succeed  to  a  pastoral  life,  so  far  as  Markets  can 
be  formed  in  the  country,  but  no  further ;  for  Canada  is 
too  distant  and  difficult  of  access.  The  only  Port  open  to 
them  is  York  Factory  on  the  dismal  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay, 
open  four  months  in  the  year.  And  to  go  to  York  Factory 
and  return  will  require  all  that  part  of  the  summer  which 
cannot  be  spared  :  but  when  a  civilized  population  shall 
cover  these  countries,  means  will  be  found  to  make  it's  produce 
find  a  Market. 

From  the  gulph  of  Mexico  to  the  Latitude  of  44  degrees 
north,  these  Great  Plains  may  be  said  to  be  barren  for  great 
spaces,  even  of  coarse  grass,  but  the  cactus  grows  in  abundance 
on  a  soil  of  sand  and  rolled  gravel ;  even  the  several  Rivers 
that  flow  through  these  plains  do  not  seem  to  fertiHse  the 
grounds  adjacent  to  them  ;  These  rivers  are  too  broad  in 
proportion  to  their  depth  and  in  autumn  very  shallow  ;  the 
Mountains  are  comparatively  low  and  therefore  sooner 
exhausted  of  their  winter  snows,  and  travellers   often  suffer 

1  Probably  Chipmunks,  Eutamias  borealis  (Allen).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Sciurus  hudsonicus  Erxleben.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  White  Spruce,  Picea  canadensis  (Mill.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Microius  p.  drummondi  and  other  species.     [E.  A.  P.] 


GREAT   PLAINS  187 

for  want  of  water.  But  as  one  advances  northward  the  soil 
becomes  better,  and  the  Missisourie  River  through  its  whole 
length  to  it's  confluence  with  the  Mississippe  carries  with  it 
lands  of  deep  soil,  on  which  are  many  Villages  of  the  Natives, 
who  subsist  partly  by  agriculture  and  partly  by  hunting. 
The  course  of  the  Missisourie  is  through  an  elevated  part  of 
these  Plains,  and  it's  great  body  of  water  has  a  swift  current 
for  about  four  miles  an  hour,  which  makes  the  ascent  of  this 
River  in  boats  very  laborious,  although  there  are  neither 
rapids,  nor  falls  :  Although  the  heads  of  this  River  give 
several  passages  across  the  Mountains  yet  from  the  labor 
being  so  great,  and  also  [the  being]  exposed  to  attacks  from 
hostile  Indians,  [it  seems]  that  Steam  Vessels  are  the  only 
proper  craft  for  this  River  ;  and  even  to  these,  it's  many 
shoals  and  sands  offer  serious  impediments,  for  it's  waters 
are  very  turbid.  From  these  there  arises  more  vexation  than 
danger  ;  this  latter  is  incurred  every  day  by  what  are  called 
Sawyers,  Planters,  and  Snags,  names  which  have  been  ridiculed 
without  offering  better  in  their  stead.  But  however  these 
things  may  be  laughed  at,  they  are  very  serious  obstacles  to 
the  navigation  of  this  River,  and  also  of  the  Mississippe. 
They  all  proceed  from  trees  torn  up  by  the  roots,  by  the 
freshets  from  heavy  rains,  or  the  melting  of  the  Snow. 

The  Planter  is  a  tree  that  has  it's  head  and  branches 
broken,  its  roots  frequently  loaded  with  earth,  and  some- 
times stones ;  drags  the  bottom  until  something  stops  it, 
and  the  roots  become  firmly  fixed  in  the  bottom  ;  when  the 
water  is  high  and  covers  them,  they  are  dangerous,  but  in 
low  water  can  be  seen  :  The  Sawyer  is  generally  a  Tree  of 
large  dimensions  broken  about  the  middle  of  its  length,  it's 
roots  are  in  the  mud  of  the  bottom  of  the  River,  sufficiently 
to  retain  them  there  ;  but  not  so  firmly  as  to  keep  the  broken 
tree  steady,  the  strong  current  bends  the  tree  under  as  much 
as  the  play  of  the  roots  will  permit,  the  strain  on  which 
causes  a  reaction,  and  the  tree  rises  with  a  spring  upwards  to 


188      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

several  feet  above  the  water,  and  with  such  force  as  will 
damage  or  destroy  any  Vessel ;  but  as  the  rising  of  these 
Sawyers  are  often  seen  at  some  distance,  they  are  avoided  : 
though  I  have  seen  some  that  being  by  the  current  immersed 
many  feet  under  water  have  taken  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes 
between  each  appearance.  The  smaller  the  Tree  the  quicker 
their  work.  A  Bison  Bull  in  swimming  across  the  River  got 
on  a  small  one,  and  remained  swimming  with  all  his  might, 
though  still  in  the  same  place.  When  the  water  becomes 
low,  many  of  these  Sawyers  have  very  little  water  and  we  see 
the  whole  machinery.  The  Snag  is  the  same  as  the  Planter, 
only  always  under  water,  so  that  it  is  not  seen,  and  cannot 
be  avoided ;  several  boats  have  been  sunk  by  them  :  the 
water  is  so  turbid  nothing  can  be  seen  under  it's  surface.  The 
River  next  northward  of  the  Missisourie  is  the  Bow  River,^  so 
named  from  a  species  of  Yew  Tree  on  its  banks,  of  which 
good  Bows  are  made.  This  is  the  most  southern  River  of  the 
British  Dominions  and  the  South  Branch  of  the  Saskatchewan. 
The  Bow  River  flows  through  the  most  pleasant  of  the 
Plains,  and  is  the  great  resort  of  the  Bison  and  the  Red  Deer, 
and  also  of  the  Natives ;  the  soil  appears  good  along  it's  whole 
extent,  but  for  the  most  part  is  bare  of  Woods,  and  those 
that  remain  are  fast  diminishing  by  fire.  The  soil  of  the 
plains  appears  to  continue  increasing  in  depth,  and  the  same 


1  Bow  river  is  the  translation  of  the  Cree  Indian  name  Manachaban 
Sipi.  It  is  so  called  on  account  of  the  growth  of  Douglas  fir  on  its  banks, 
as  from  this  wood,  if  it  could  be  obtained,  bows  were  made.  As  here  used 
the  name  is  applied  to  the  whole  length  of  the  south  branch  of  the  Sas- 
katchewan river  from  its  source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  its  junction 
with  the  north  branch  at  "  The  Forks."  As  far  as  we  yet  have  certain 
information,  it  was  first  descended  in  1800  by  four  men  sent  by  Thompson 
from  Rocky  Mountain  House,  and  later  in  the  same  year  it  was  again 
ascended  by  Belleau,  Fidler,  and  John  Wills,  to  the  forks  of  the  Red  Deer 
and  Bow  river  proper,  where  Chesterfield  House  was  built  by  the  North- 
west, Hudson's  Bay,  and  X  Y  Companies  respectively  to  secure  the  trade 
with  the  Blackfeet.  The  site  was  occupied  by  these  companies  for  two 
years,  and  was  then  abandoned. 


GREAT   PLAINS  189 

through  the  Forests.  In  Latitude  56  degrees  north,  is  the 
Smoke  River,  the  great  south  branch  of  the  Peace  River ; 
by  the  GuUies  and  Ravines  the  earth  appears  to  have  a  depth 
of  about  300  feet ;  Those  who  wish  to  find  a  material  cause 
for  this  apparent  increasing  depth  of  earth  from  south  to  north ; 
are  led  to  suppose  a  great  flood  of  water  from  the  gulph  of 
Mexico  rushed  northwards  along  the  Mountains,  denuded  all 
the  south  parts  of  it's  earth,  leaving  sand  and  rounded  gravel 
for  a  soil ;  and  carried  the  earth  northward,  where  it  has 
settled  in  great  depth  ;  here  is  a  grand  cause  with  a  great 
effect.  But  how  came  the  Rivers  not  to  be  defaced.  The 
Rivers  that  roll  through  this  immense  unbroken  body  of  land 
of  Plains  and  Forests,  are  so  beautifully  distributed ;  all 
their  banks  so  admirably  adjusted  to  the  volumes  of  water 
that  flow  between  them,  that  neither  the  heaviest  rains  nor 
the  melting  of  the  Snows  of  the  Mountains  inundate  the 
adjacent  country.  In  all  seasons,  the  Indians,  the  Bisons  ^  and 
Deer,^  repose  on  their  banks  in  perfect  security.  Who  ever 
calmly  views  the  admirable  formation  and  distribution  of  the 
Rivers  so  wonderfully  conducted  to  their  several  seas ;  must 
confess  the  whole  to  have  been  traced  by  the  finger  of  the 
Great  Supreme  Artificer  for  the  most  benevolent  purposes, 
both  to  his  creature  Man,  and  the  numerous  Animals  he  has 
made,  none  of  whom  can  exist  without  water.  Water  may 
be  said  to  be  one  of  the  principal  elements  of  life. 

Coal  appears  to  be  sparingly  found  in  North  America  ; 
and  the  beds  [are]  very  far  between  each  other.  The  only 
beds  of  coal  that  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  are  those  which 
lye  near  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  the  Missisourie 
is  said  to  have  coal,  but  of  this  I  am  not  sure.  The  branches 
of  the  Saskatchewan  River  in  the  freshets  lodge  Coal  on  the 
sands  of  the  Rivers.  On  the  main  River  when  the  water 
lowers,  several  bushels  of  very  good  Coal  can  be  collected  on 

1  Bison  bison  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Odocoileus.     [E.  A.  P.] 


190     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  Sands,  and  at  the  Rocky  Mountain  House,^  where  I  passed 
two  winters  and  one  summer,  we  found  the  bank  about 
ICO  yards  below  the  House  to  be  of  pure  coal,  and  of  an 
excellent  quality.  My  Blacksmith  tried  this  coal,  and  at  the 
first  trial  it  melted  the  rod  of  iron,  and  from  the  great  heat  it 
gave,  he  had  to  use  half  charcoal ;  and  thought  the  quality 
of  the  coal  superior  to  any  brought  from  England.  This  bed 
of  Coal  extends  as  far  as  56  degrees  of  north  Latitude,  and 
Longitude  .  .  .  West.  For  the  Smoke  River  ^  is  so  named, 
from  the  volumes  of  dark  smoke  sent  from  the  Coal  Mines 
there  on  fire,  and  which  have  bten  burning  beyond  the 
memory  of  the  oldest  Indian  of  that  River. 

From  the  very  numerous  remains  in  Siberia  and  parts 
of  Europe  of  the  Elephant,  Rhinocerous,  and  other  large 
Animals,  especially  near  the  Rivers,  and  in  their  banks,  of 
those  countries,  I  was  led  to  expect  to  find  the  remains  of 
those  Animals  in  the  Great  Plains,  and  the  Rivers  that  flow 
through  them  :  but  all  my  steady  researches,  and  all  my 
enquiries  led  to  nothing.  Over  a  great  extent  of  these 
Plains  not  a  vestige  could  be  found,  nor  in  the  banks  of  the 
many  Rivers  I  have  examined.^ 

1  Rocky  Mountain  House  was  built  by  the  North-West  Company  in 
1799,  under  instructions  from  John  McDonald  of  Garth,  who  was  living 
at  the  time  at  Fort  George.  It  was  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the 
North  Saskatchewan  river,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  above  the  mouth  of 
Clearwater  river.  Thompson  spent  here  the  winters  of  1800—01  and 
1806-07.  When  I  visited  the  place  in  1886,  some  of  the  bastions  of  the 
old  fort  were  still  standing. 

*  This  river,  which  is  one  of  the  large  branches  of  Peace  river,  is 
rightly  stated  by  Thompson  to  have  been  named  from  the  seams  of  coal 
which  are  burning  on  its  banks.  It  is  set  on  fire  by  spontaneous  com- 
bustion caused  by  the  oxidation  of  iron  pyrites,  which  occurs  associated 
with  the  coal. 

^  It  is  a  rather  curious  circumstance  that  the  occurrence  of  fossil  bones 
in  western  Canada  should  have  been  unknown  to  Thompson  and  his  asso- 
ciates, for  while  they  might  not  have  found  them  themselves,  it  would 
have  been  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  would  have  been  told 
about  them  by  the  Indians.  It  is  true  that  mastodon  bones  are  very 
scarce,  there  being  only  one  authenticated  record  of  a  find  of  such  bones 


GREAT   PLAINS  191 

The  fossil  bones  of  the  large  animals  that  have  been 
found  on  this  Continent  appear  to  be  limited  to  the  United 
States  east  of  the  Allegany  Mountains  (Hills),  and  on  the 
west  side  to  the  Ohio  River,  and  the  countries  southward  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Mississippe  and  to  South  America.  On 
the  west  side  of  the  Mississippe  only  one  large  bone  has  been 
found,  which  the  Natives  reverenced  and  [which]  has  given  a 
name  to  two  tribes,  the  great,  and  the  little,  Osage  Indians. 

This  large  bone,  several  years  ago,  was  purchased  from  the 
Natives  and  placed  in  the  museum  of  Washington  City. 
The  Natives  when  questioned  on  the  fossil  bones  of  the  Ohio 
River,  made  a  fable  for  an  answer.  That  in  old  times  these 
Mammoths  were  numerous  ;  they  devoured  all  other  Animals, 
and  did  not  allow  Man  to  live ;  at  length  the  Great  Spirit 
became  angry.  He  descended  with  the  Thunder  in  his  hands, 
and  destroyed  them  all ;  except  the  big  Bull,  the  Thunder 
struck  him  on  the  forehead  but  did  not  kill  him,  he  bounded 
away,  sprang  over  the  Mississippe  River,  and  ran  to  the  west, 
where  he  yet  lives.  (Note.  When  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  Athabasca  River  and  Mountain  defiles  to  the  Columbia 
River  ;  the  Natives,  but  especially  the  White  and  Iroquois 
Hunters,  all  declared  these  places  to  be  the  haunt  of  an 
enormous  Animal  who  lived  on  grass,  moss  and  the  tender 
shoots  of  the  willows  ;  nor  could  all  my  arguments  when 
there  make  a  single  convert  to  the  contrary). 

Not  a  single  fossil  bone  of  an  Elephant,  Rhinocerous,  or 
Mammoth  has  been  found  in  all  Canada  nor  about  any  of 

on  the  plains  of  the  west,  namely,  on  Shell  river  in  northern  Manitoba. 
But  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  Deer  river,  as  well  as  on  some  of  the  other 
streams  farther  south,  huge  bones  of  dinosaurs  and  other  gigantic  reptilian 
animals  of  late  Cretaceous  age  are  fairly  abundant.  In  fact  this  locality 
is  now  one  of  the  most  famous  collecting  grounds  of  these  fossil  bones  in 
North  America.  The  reason  for  this  ignorance  was  doubtless  that  these 
bones  are  not  found  on  the  banks  of  the  North  Saskatchewan  river,  which 
was  the  ordinary  line  of  travel  at  that  time,  and  that  the  streams  to  the 
south  of  it,  on  which  they  do  occur,  were  practically  unknown  to  the 
white  men. 


192      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  Great  Lakes,  and  valley  of  the  [St.]  Lawrence,  and  north- 
ward to  the  Arctic  Circle,  although  almost  all  these  countries 
are  sufficiently  known  ;  nor  has  the  travels  of  Captain  Franklin 
in  the  Arctic  Regions  been  attended  with  any  success  on  this 
subject.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  I  passed 
six  year  ^  of  discovery,  yet  not  a  vestige  that  these  great 
Animals  once  existed  in  those  parts  could  be  found.  We  may 
therefore  conclude,  that  the  great  animals  of  North  America 
were  limited  to  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the  Allegany  Hills, 
and  the  east  side  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippe,  and  no 
farther  to  the  northward  and  westward  on  this  Continent  : 
and  that  these  were  all  destroyed  by  the  Deluge,  which  also 
put  an  end  to  other  races  of  animals  and  thus  the  Great 
Creator  made  the  Earth  more  habitable  for  his  favourite 
creature  Man. 

^  The  years  referred  to  are  1807  to  181 2  inclusive. 


CHAPTER    XII 

SWAN   RIVER   COUNTRY 

Cross  Lake  Winipeg — Dauphine  River — Swan  River — Szoan 
River  House — Set  out  for  Upper  House  on  Stone  Indian 
River — Trading  House  in  charge  of  M.  Belleau — Reach 
Upper  House  on  Red  Deer  River — Fearlessness  of  Plain 
Deer — Man  and  the  Beaver — Introduction  of  iron  imple- 
ments by  the  French — Character  of  the  Beaver — The  Dam — 
Beaver  Houses — Burrows — Beaver  Hunting — Beaver  Dogs 
— Long  Beaver  Dam — Tradition  of  the  Beaver — Castorum 
— Destruction  of  the  Beaver — Journey — Stone  Indians. 

I  HOPE  I  have  now  given  such  a  general  view  of  the 
formation  of  the  Great  Plains  and  their  eastern  borders 
as  will  enable  the  reader  readily  to  follow  me  in  my 
travels.  One  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  North  West 
Company  was  to  ascertain  the  Courses  of  the  Rivers,  the 
situation  of  the  Lakes,  and  of  their  several  Trading  Houses, 
which  in  some  parts  appeared  to  be  too  near  each  other,  and 
in  other  parts,  too  distant. 

From  the  Winepeg  House  we  coasted  the  Lake  with  it's 
shore  of  limestone,  mostly  low,  but  at  times  forming  cliffs  to 
the  height  of  fifty  feet  to  the  mouth  of  the  Dauphine  River.  ^ 
To  this  place  our  straight  course  has  been  N  43  W  127  miles. 
We  now  proceeded  up  the  Dauphine  River,  a  fine  stream  of 

^  Dauphin  river  is  now  known  as  the  Little  Saskatchewan  river, 
and  flows  from  Lake  Manitoba  into  Lake  Winnipeg.  Thompson  omits 
to  mention  that  he  passed  through  Partridge  Crop  and  St.  Martin  lakes 
on  the  way  up  the  Dauphin  river,  and  that  after  leaving  the  head  of 
this  river  he  passed  through  a  long  stretch  of  Lake  Manitoba  before  he 
reached  the  Meadow  Portage. 

193  N 


194      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

about  thirty  yards  in  width,  and  an  average  of  three  feet  in 
depth.  As  we  advanced  the  country  improved  in  soil,  and 
also  the  Forests  through  which  it  runs,  but  the  Deer  and  the 
Beaver  are  few.  Having  proceeded  eighty  eight  miles  in  a 
straight  course  of  S  74  W,  the  River  has  many  turnings  in 
this  distance,  we  came  to  the  Meadow  Carrying  Place  ^  of 
2760  yards,  which  leads  from  the  River  to  Lake  Winepegoos  ^ 
(the  little  Sea).  The  Dauphine  comes  out  of  this  Lake,  but 
it's  course  is  now  so  circuitous,  with  shoal  Rapids,  that  the 
Carrying  Place  is  preferred.  We  went  over  this  Lake  for 
fifty  nine  miles  to  the  entrance  of  the  Swan  River,  a  small 
stream  of  about  fifteen  to  twenty  yards  in  width,  with  a 
depth  of  about  three  feet  and  gentle  current,  through  a  fine 
country,  for  we  are  now  among  the  fine  low  Hills  I  have 
already  mentioned  ;  the  Beaver  are  now  plenty ;  but  the 
Deer  are  only  beginning  to  leave  the  heights  of  the  Hills 
where  they  pass  the  summer. 

Having  proceeded  twelve  miles  we  came  to  the  Swan  River 
House  of  the  North  West  Company,^  in  Latitude  52  .  24 .  5  N 
Longitude  100 .  36  .  52  W  Variation  13  East.  There  were  but 
two  families  of  the  Natives,  Nahathaway  Indians  to  whom 
these  countries  belong  :    but  several  Chippewas  *  have  lately 

^  Lake  Winnipegosis  discharges  into  Lake  Manitoba  by  Waterhen 
river,  a  stream  which  first  flows  north  and  then  turns  and  flows  a  Uttle 
east  of  south,  almost  parallel  with  its  former  course.  In  order  to  avoid 
the  ascent  of  this  stream  it  was  customary  for  the  canoemen  to  carry  their 
canoes  and  cargoes  over  a  low  grassy  ridge  3,130  yards  across,  which  sepa- 
rated the  two  lakes.  This  was  known  as  the  Meadow  Portage  or  Carry- 
ing Place. 

*  The  name  of  this  lake  is  now  regularly  spelled  Winnipegosis.  It  is 
a  large  narrow  body  of  moderately  clear  water,  with  a  greatest  length  of 
120  miles,  and  a  total  area  of  2,000  square  miles.  The  total  distance 
travelled  by  Thompson  through  this  lake  from  the  Meadow  Portage  to 
the  mouth  of  Swan  river  was  145  miles,  and  not  59  miles  as  stated  in 
the  text. 

*  For  a  more  exact  statement  of  Thompson's  movements  at  this  time, 
and  the  position  of  this  house,  see  p.  Ixxiii. 

*  The  Chippewa,  or  as  they  are  sometimes  called  the  Ojibways,  are  one 
of  the  great  branches  of  the  Algonquin  family  which  was  so  widely  spread 


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SWAN   RIVER  COUNTRY  l95 

come  from  the  southward  where  their  own  countries  are 
exhausted  of  the  Beaver  and  the  Deer.  These  two  famiUes 
having  procured  Ammunition  and  Tobacco  went  off  to  inform 
the  others  of  the  arrival  of  the  Canoes.  From  the  Swan  River, 
on  the  zG^  September  1796  [1797]  we  proceeded  with  Horses 
across  the  country  to  the  Stone  Indian  River,  (on  which  the 
North  West  Company  have  several  trading  Houses)  to  the 
upper  House  in  charge  of  M""  Cuthbert  Grant,^  N  40-$-  W  90 
miles ;  this  distance  was  mostly  through  fine  Forests  through 
which  our  Horses  found  the  ground  every  where  good, 
except  a  few  wet  meadoWs,  in  which  they  did  not  go  ancle 
deep.  My  Indian  Guide  had  learned  that  the  Pawnee 
Indians  had  been  defeated,  and  altho'  by  Indians  of  whom 
he  knew  nothing,  yet  kept  bawHng  the  whole  day,  "  We  have 
fought  with  the  Pawnee's  and  have  conquered  them."  He 
was  a  Chippeway.  In  the  evening  when  we  camped,  I  told 
him,  he  was  the  only  Warrior  I  ever  knew,  that  boasted  of 
conquering  a  people  whom  he  never  saw,  nor  was  likely  to 
see,  and  that  no  one  woiild  believe  him  ;  he  replied.  We 
young  men,  at  present,  have  no  opportunities  of  distinguish- 
ing ourselves,  the  enemies  that  our  fathers  warred  on  are 
driven  across  the  Missisourie  River,  far  beyond  our  reach, 
but  I  wiU  sing  no  more. 

We  now  turned  to  the  trading  House  in  charge  of  M' 
Belleau,^  situated  between  the  Swan  and  Stone  Indian  Rivers, 

over  Canada  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  eastward  to  the  Atlantic  ocean. 
The  centre  of  the  territory  occupied  by  them  was  probably  about  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  at  the  east  end  of  Lake  Si;4)erior. 

*  For  the  position  of  this  post,  see  p.  Ixxiii.  It  appears  to  have  been 
founded  by  Peter  Grant  about  1793,  and  to  have  been  occupied  by  Cuth- 
bert Grant  afterwards.  Cuthbert  Grant  was  the  father  of  the  Cuthbert 
Grant  who  took  so  large  a  part  in  the  Red  River  troubles  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  had  been  with  Peter  Pond  and  Alexander 
Mackenzie  on  Lake  Athabaska  in  1786  and  1789.  Masson  says  that  he 
died  in  1799. 

*  Pierre  Belleau,  the  man  here  referred  to,  was  an  old  engage  of  the 
North-West  Company  who  was  in  charge  of  a  number  of  posts  throughout 
the  North- West  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.     A  man  of 


196      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  as  usual  observed  for  Latitude  and  Longitude,  which 
gave  51°  51'  9"  N  i02°-3o"  W  the  course  N.  12  W  30  miles. 
In  this  distance  the  country  had  much  wet  ground  from  the 
many  ponds  kept  full  by  Beaver  Dams.  We  returned  to 
M^  Grants,  and  from  there  journeyed  to  the  Upper  House 
on  the  Red  Deer  River,^  in  charge  of  M'  Hugh  McGillis,  in 
Latitude  52-59-7  N  Longitude  101-32-27  W  the  course 
N  10  E  III  Miles,  but  the  Ponds  formed  by  the  Beaver,  and 
their  Dams  which  we  had  to  cross  lengthened  our  Road  to 
150  miles ;  these  sagacious  animals  were  in  full  possession  of 
the  country,  but  their  destruction  had  aheady  began,  and  was 
now  in  full  operation.     All  the  above  Trading  Houses  of  the 

this  name,  and  probably  the  same  individual,  was  in  charge  of  the  party 
for  the  X  Y  Company  which  ascended  the  South  Saskatchewan  river  in 
the  summer  of  1800,  and  founded  Chesterfield  House  at  the  forks  of  the 
Bow  and  Red  Deer  rivers. 

^  Thompson's  map  shows  this  house  to  have  been  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Red  Deer  river.  It  was  probably  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Etoimami  river,  between  three  and  four  miles  south  of  Hudson  Bay 
Junction  on  the  Canadian  Northern  Railway,  where  the  ruins  of  two  old 
houses  were  seen  in  1889.  This  post  is  probably  the  one  referred  to  as 
Fort  La  Biche  on  Pond's  map  of  1790,  though  there  it  is  wrongly  placed 
on  the  Swan  river.  In  this  case,  it  was  doubtless  one  of  the  oldest  trading 
posts  south  of  the  Saskatchewan  river  and  west  of  the  Manitoba  lakes  ; 
the  only  other  posts  designated  on  the  map  being  Fort  Dauphin  on  Lake 
Dauphin,  and  Fort  Epinette  on  the  Assiniboine  river.  There  was  also 
another  trading  post  on  the  Red  Deer  river  which  was  known  as  the 
Lower  Settlement,  and  was  said  to  be  sixty  miles  below  the  Upper  Settle- 
ment. It  was  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  a  short  distance 
west  of  Red  Deer  lake,  on  a  flat,  which,  in  1889,  was  covered  with  grass 
and  rose  bushes  or  small  poplars.  Here  and  there  were  pits  or  cellars 
where  potatoes  had  doubtless  been  stored  during  the  winter,  and  it  was 
possible  to  see  that  the  natural  sod  had  been  broken  in  order  to  grow 
potatoes  and  other  vegetables.  Just  on  the  bank  of  the  river  and  almost 
ready  to  be  carried  away  by  the  first  flood  was  a  heap  of  earth  and  stones 
representing  a  chimney  of  one  of  the  old  houses.  All  remains  of  the 
other  houses  had  already  been  carried  away.  A  little  nearer  Red  Deer 
lake,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  were  the  remains  of  the  chimneys 
and  cellars  of  four  old  houses  representing  the  site  of  a  trading  post  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  From  one  of  the  heaps  of  earth  and  stones, 
representing  all  that  remained  of  a  chimney  of  one  of  the  houses,  a  large 
poplar  tree  was  then  growing. 


SWAN   RIVER   COUNTRY  197 

North  West  Company  from  Canada  were  on  the  south  west 
sides  of  the  range  of  low  Hills  which  border  the  east  side  of 
the  Great  Plains  and  hitherto  all  my  journeys  were  those  of 
pleasure  :  The  Moose  Deer  of  these  Hills,  although  always  a 
very  wary  animal,  yet  from  their  being  more  numerous,  also 
from  the  Forests  being  more  open,  were  not  the  same  cautious, 
timid,  animal  that  it  is  in  the  close,  dark,  Pine  Forests  of  the 
north  :  aided  perhaps,  by  being  accustomed  to  see  other 
species  of  Deer  and  Horses ;  but  the  Stag  ^  with  his  half  a 
dozen  of  Does,  which  he  as  carefully  guards,  and  is  as  ready 
to  fight  for,  as  any  Turkish  Pacha  for  his  Harem,  that  is  the 
pride  of  these  forests  and  meadows.  But  when  the  season  of 
love  is  over,  as  now,  his  Does  leave  him,  his  head  droops, 
and  [he]  is  no  longer  the  lordly  animal  that  appeared  as  light 
on  the  ground  as  a  Bird  on  the  wing.  On  such  a  variety  of 
Hill  and  Plain,  of  Forests  and  Meadows  I  expected  to  have 
found  several  mineral  Springs,  which  are  so  frequent  in  other 
countries ;  but  neither  my  attention  to  this  object,  nor  my 
enquiries  could  find  one  single  Spring  :  all  my  information 
led  only  to  the  saline  Brooks  of  the  Red  River,  from  some  of 
which  salt  is  made  by  boiling  the  saline  water.  All  those 
fine  countries  are  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Nahathaway 
Indians. 

Previous  to  the  discovery  of  Canada  (about  320  years  ago,) 
this  Continent  from  the  Latitude  of  forty  degrees  north  to 
the  Arctic  Circle,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
may  be  said  to  have  been  in  the  possession  of  two  distinct 
races  of  Beings,  Man  and  the  Beaver.  Man  was  naked  and 
had  to  procure  clothing  from  the  skins  of  animals  ;  his  only 
arms  were  a  Stake,  pointed  and  hardened  in  the  fire,  a  Bow 
with  Arrows,  the  points  hardened  with  fire,  or  headed  with 
stone  or  bone  of  the  legs  of  the  Deer,  a  Spear  headed  in  the 
same  manner,  and  a  club  of  heavy  wood,  or  made  of  a  rounded 
stone  of  four,  or  five  pounds  weight,  inclosed  in  raw  hide, 

^  Cervus  canadensis  Erxleben.     [E.  A,  P.] 


198      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  by  the  same  bound  round  a  handle  of  wood  of  about 
two  feet  in  length,  bound  firm  to  the  Stone.  Such  were  the 
weapons  Man  had  for  self  defence  and  with  which  to  procure 
his  food  and  clothing.  Against  the  bones  of  an  Animal  his 
Arrows  and  Spear  had  little  effect ;  the  flank  of  every  animal 
is  open,  and  thither,  into  the  bowels,  the  Indian  directed 
his  fatal  and  unerring  Arrows.  (Note.  Every  Hunter  is 
acquainted  with  the  effects  of  wounds  in  the  different  parts 
of  an  animal ;  with  an  arrow  in,  or  a  ball  through,  the  bowels, 
an  animal  if  pursued  will  go  a  long  way  :  but  if  let  alone, 
soon  becomes  as  it  were  sick,  lies  down  on  it's  belly  and  there 
dies).  Besides  his  weapons,  the  Snare  was  much  in  use,  and 
the  Spear  to  assist  it  for  large  animals,  and  by  all  accounts 
the  Deer  and  furr  bearing  animals  were  very  numerous,  and 
thus  Man  was  Lord  of  all  the  dry  land  and  all  that  was  on  it. 
The  other  race  was  the  Beaver,  they  were  safe  from  every 
animal  but  Man,  and  the  Wolverine.  Every  year  each  pair 
having  from  five  to  seven  young,  which  they  carefully  reared, 
they  become  innumerable,  and  except  the  Great  Lakes,  the 
waves  of  which  are  too  turbulent,  occupied  all  the  waters  of 
the  northern  part  of  the  Continent.  Every  River  where  the 
current  was  moderate  and  sufficiently  deep,  the  banks  at  the 
water  edge  were  occupied  by  their  houses.  To  every  small 
Lake,  and  all  the  Ponds  they  builded  Dams,  and  enlarged 
and  deepened  them  to  the  height  of  the  dams.  Even  to 
grounds  occasionally  overflowed,  by  heavy  rains,  they  also 
made  dams,  and  made  them  permanent  Ponds,  and  as  they 
heightened  the  dams  [they]  increased  the  extent  and  added  to 
the  depth  of  the  water  ;  Thus  all  the  low  lands  were  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Beaver,  and  all  the  hollows  of  the  higher  grounds. 
Small  Streams  were  dammed  across  and  Ponds  formed ;  the 
dry  land  with  the  dominions  of  Man  contracted,  every  where 
he  was  hemmed  in  by  water  without  the  power  of  preventing 
it  :  he  could  not  diminish  the  numbers  half  so  fast  as  they 
multiplied,  and  their  houses  were  proof  against  his  pointed 


SWAN    RIVER   COUNTRY  199 

stake,  and  his  arrows  could  seldom  pierce  their  skins.  (Note. 
In  my  travels,  several  thousands  of  the  Natives  were  not  half 
so  well  armed.)  In  this  state  Man  and  the  Beaver  had  been 
for  many  centuries,  but  the  discovery  of  Canada  by  the 
French,  and  their  settlements  up  the  S*  Lawrence  soon  placed 
the  Natives  far  superior  to  the  Beaver. 

Without  Iron,  man  is  weak,  very  weak,  but  armed  with 
Iron,  he  becomes  the  Lord  of  the  Earth,  no  other  metal  can 
take  it's  place.  For  the  furrs  which  the  Natives  traded,  they 
procured  from  the  French  Axes,  Chissels,  Knives,  Spears  and 
other  articles  of  iron,  with  which  they  made  good  hunts  of 
furr  bearing  animals  and  procured  woollen  clothing.  Thus 
armed  the  houses  of  the  Beavers  were  pierced  through,  the 
Dams  cut  through,  and  the  water  of  the  Ponds  lowered,  or 
wholly  run  off,  and  the  houses  of  the  Beaver  and  their  Borrows 
laid  dry,  by  which  means  they  became  an  easy  prey  to  the 
Hunter. 

The  Beaver  ^  is  an  animal  well  known  ;  the  average  weight 
of  a  full  grown  male  is  about  fifty  five  pounds,  his  meat  is 
agreeable  to  most  although  fat  and  oily  ;  the  tail  is  a  deli- 
cacy. They  are  always  in  pairs,  and  work  together,  their 
first  business  is  to  insure  a  sufficient  depth  and  extent  of 
water  for  the  winter  ;  and  if  nature  has  not  done  this  for 
them,  they  make  dams  to  obtain  it.  If  there  are  more  famiHes 
than  one  in  a  piece  of  water,  they  all  work  together,  each 
appearing  to  labor  on  a  particular  part. 

The  Dam  is  made  of  Ear.th,  pieces  of  wood  laid  obhque 
to  the  direction  of  the  dam.  The  wood  employed  is  always  of 
Aspin,  Poplar  or  large  Willow  and  Alders ;  if  Pine  is  used  it 
is  through  necessity,  not  by  choice  ;  the  bottom  is  well  laid, 
and  if  small  stones  are  at  hand,  they  make  use  of  them  for 
the  bottom  of  the  Dam,  the  earth  is  brought  between  their 
fore  paws  and  throat,  laid  down,  and  by  several  strokes  of 
the  tail  made  compact  :  the  pieces  of  wood,  are  with  their 
1  Castor  canadensis  Kuhl.     [E.  A.  P.] 


200      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

teeth,  which  are  ver)^  sharp,  and  formed  Hke  small  chissels, 
cut  into  the  lengths  they  want,  brought  to  the  dam,  and 
worked  in,  and  thus  the  Dam  is  raised  to  the  height  required. 
It  is  a  remark  of  many,  that  Dams  erected  by  the  art  of  Man 
are  frequently  damaged,  or  wholly  carried  away  by  violent 
freshets,  but  no  power  of  water  has  ever  carried  away  a 
Beaver  Dam.  Having  secured  a  sufficient  depth  of  water 
each  family  builds  a  separate  house,  this  is  in  the  form  of  a 
low  dome  :  from  the  door  way  which  is  a  little  way  in  the 
water,  gradually  rising  to  about  thirty  inches  in  height  and 
about  six  feet  in  diameter ;  the  materials  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  Dam,  and  worked  in  the  same  manner,  only  the 
pieces  of  wood  are  much  shorter,  and  if  at  hand,  small  flat 
stones  are  worked  in.  And  the  coating  of  the  first  year  may 
be  about  four  to  five  inches  thick  and  every  year  an  additional 
coat  is  added,  until  it  is  a  foot,  or  more,  in  thickness.  Grass 
then  grows  upon  it,  and  it  looks  like  a  little  knowl.  The  next 
work  is  to  make  Burrows  of  retreat ;  the  first  year  seldom 
more  than  one,  or  two  can  be  made,  and  sometimes  none ; 
these  are  carried  on,  from  a  few  inches  below  the  surface  of 
the  water,  direct  from  it,  gradually  rising,  of  about  a  foot  in 
height  by  twenty  inches  in  breadth,  so  that  a  Beaver  can 
turn  in  them ;  their  length  depends  on  their  easiness  of 
digging  the  ground.  The  general  length  is  about  ten  feet,  but 
in  good  earth  they  often  are  of  twenty  feet,  or  more.  The 
second  and  third  years  the  numbers  of  Burrows  are  augmented 
to  five  or  six,  and  where  the  Beaver  have  been  a  long  time, 
the  Ponds,  and  small  Lakes  have  numerous  burrows. 

The  Indians  think  the  Male  and  Female  are  faithful  to 
each  other,  they  bring  up  their  young  for  the  first  year  with 
care  and  protection,  until  the  next  spring  when  the  female 
is  about  to  litter  she  drives  them  all  away,  and  some  of  them, 
before  they  can  be  made  to  stay  away,  receive  severe  cuts  on 
the  back  from  the  teeth  of  the  old  ones.  The  young  Beavers 
are  very  playful,  and  whimper  like  children.     The  Beaver  is 


SWAN   RIVER   COUNTRY  201 

supposed  to  attain  to  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  some  think  to 
twenty  years.  The  Beaver  Hunter  is  often  at  a  loss  what  to 
do,  and  sometimes  passes  a  whole  day  without  coming  to  a 
determination  ;  his  shortest  and  surest  way,  is  to  stake  up 
the  door  way  of  the  house,  the  stakes  he  carries  with  him 
ready  for  the  purpose,  but  the  Beaver  are  so  watchful  that 
his  approach  is  heard  and  they  retire  to  their  burrows.  Some 
prefer,  first  finding  the  burrows  and  closing  them  up  with 
stakes  and  cutting  off  all  retreat  from  the  house  ;  whichever 
method  he  takes,  difficulties  and  hard  labor  attends  him.  To 
determine  the  place  of  the  Beavers,  for  the  whole  family  of 
seven,  or  nine,  are  seldom  all  found  in  the  house,  the  Indian 
is  greatly  assisted  by  a  peculiar  species  of  small  Dog,  of  a 
light  make,  about  three  feet  in  height,  muzzle  sharp,  and 
brown,  full  black  eyes,  with  a  round  brown  spot  above  each 
eye,  the  body  black,  the  belly  of  a  fawn  color,  it's  scent  very 
keen,  and  almost  unerring.  This  Dog  points  out  by  smeUing 
and  scratching,  the  weakest  part  of  the  Beaver  House,  and 
the  part  where  they  lie ;  the  same  in  the  burrows,  which  are 
then  doubly  staked  ;  the  Indian  with  his  Axe  and  Ice  Chissel 
makes  a  hole  over  the  place  shown  by  the  Dog,  the  Beaver 
has  changed  it's  place,  to  find  to  which  end  of  the  burrow 
it  is  gone,  a  crooked  stick  is  employed  until  it  touches  the 
Beaver ;  another  hole  is  made,  and  the  Beaver  is  killed  with 
the  Ice  Chissel,  which  has  a  heavy  handle  of  about  seven 
feet  in  length.  When  the  dog  smells  and  scratches  at  two, 
or  three  places  on  the  beaver  house,  it  is  a  mark  that  there 
are  several  in  it.  The  door  way  being  doubly  staked,  the 
Indian  proceeds  to  make  a  hole  near  the  centre  of  it,  to  give 
fiill  range  to  his  ice  chissel,  and  not  one  escapes,  but  all  [are 
killed]  with  hard  labor  :  Such  was  the  manner  of  killing  the 
Beaver  until  the  introduction  of  Steel  Traps,  which  baited 
with  Castorum  soon  brought  on  the  almost  total  destruction 
of  these  numerous  and  sagacious  animals. 

From  this  long  digression,  I  return  to  my  travels  in  the 


202      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Nut  Hill ;  on  a  fine  afternoon  in  October,  the  leaves  beginning 
to  fall  with  every  breeze,  a  season  to  me  of  pleasing  melan- 
choly, from  the  reflections  it  brings  to  the  mind  ;  my  guide 
informed  me  that  we  would  have  to  pass  over  a  long  beaver 
Dam ;  I  naturally  expected  we  should  have  to  load  our 
Horses  carefully  over  it ;  when  we  came  to  it,  we  found  it  a 
narrow  stripe  of  apparently  old  solid  ground,  with  short 
grass,  and  wide  enough  for  two  horses  to  walk  abreast  :  we 
passed  on,  the  lower  side  showed  a  descent  of  seven  feet,  and 
steep,  with  a  rill  of  water  from  beneath  it.  The  side  of  the 
dam  next  to  the  water  was  a  gentle  slope.  To  the  south- 
ward was  a  sheet  of  water  of  about  one  mile  and  a  half  square 
of  area,  surrounded  by  moderate,  low  grassy  banks,  the 
Forests  mostly  of  Aspin  and  Poplar  but  very  numerous 
stumps  of  the  trees  cut  down  and  partly  carried  away  by  the 
Beavers.  In  two  places  of  this  Pond  were  a  cluster  of  Beaver 
Houses,  like  miniature  villages.  When  we  had  proceeded 
over  more  than  half  way  of  the  Dam,  which  was  a  full  mile 
in  length,  we  came  to  an  aged  Indian,  his  arms  folded  across 
his  breast ;  with  a  pensive  countenance,  looking  at  the 
Beavers  swiming  in  the  water,  and  carrying  their  winter's 
provisions  to  their  houses,  his  form  tall  and  erect,  his  hair 
almost  white,  which  was  almost  the  only  effect  that  age 
appeared  to  have  on  him,  though  we  concluded  he  must  be 
about  eighty  years  of  age,  and  in  this  opinion  we  were  after- 
wards confirmed  by  the  ease  and  readiness  with  which  he 
spoke  of  times  long  past.  I  enquired  of  him  how  many 
beaver  houses  there  were  in  the  pond  before  us,  he  said. 
There  are  now  fifty  two,  we  have  taken  several  of  their 
houses ;  they  are  difficult  to  take,  and  those  we  have  taken 
were  by  means  of  the  noise  of  the  water  on  their  houses  from 
a  strong  wind  which  enabled  us  to  stake  them  in,  otherwise 
they  would  have  retired  to  their  burrows,  which  are  very 
many.  He  invited  us  to  pass  the  night  at  his  tent  which  was 
close  by,  the  Sun  was  low,  and  we  accepted  the  offer. 


SWAN   RIVER  COUNTRY  208 

In  the  Tent  was  an  old  man,  almost  his  equal  in  age  with 
women  and  -children ;  we  preferred  the  open  air,  and  made  a 
good  fire  to  which  both  of  the  old  men  came,  and  after 
smoking  a  while  conversation  came  on.  As  I  had  always 
conversed  with  the  Natives  as  one  Indian  with  another,  and 
been  attentive  to  learn  their  traditions  on  the  animals  on 
Mankind,  and  on  other  matter  in  ancient  times,  and  the 
present  occasion  appeared  favorable  for  this  purpose.  Setting 
aside  questions  and  answers  which  would  be  tiresome ;  they 
said,  by  ancient  tradition  of  which  they  did  not  know  the 
origen  the  Beavers  had  been  an  ancient  people,  and  then 
lived  on  the  dry  land ;  they  were  always  Beavers,  not  Men, 
they  were  wise  and  powerful,  and  neither  Man,  nor  any  animal 
made  war  on  them. 

They  were  well  clothed  as  at  present,  and  as  they  did  not 
eat  meat,  they  made  no  use  of  fire,  and  did  not  want  it. 
How  long  they  lived  this  way  we  cannot  tell,  but  we  must 
suppose  they  did  not  live  well,  for  the  Great  Spirit  became 
angry  with  them,  and  ordered  Weesaukejauk  to  drive  them 
all  into  the  water  and  there  let  them  live,  still  to  be  wise, 
but  without  power ;  to  be  food  and  clothing  for  man,  and 
the  prey  of  other  animals,  against  all  which  his  defence  shall 
be  his  dams,  his  house  and  his  burrows  :  You  see  how  strong 
he  makes  his  dams,  those  that  we  make  for  fishing  wiers  are 
often  destroyed  by  the  water,  but  his  always  stands.  His 
House  is  not  made  of  sand,  or  loose  stones,  but  of  strong 
earth  with  wood  and  sometirdes  small  stones ;  and  he  makes 
burrows  to  escape  from  his  enemies,  and  he  always  has  his 
winter  stock  of  provisions  secured  in  good  time.  When  he 
cuts  down  a  tree,  you  see  how  he  watches  it,  and  takes  care 
that  it  shall  not  fall  on  him.  "  But  if  so  wise,  for  what 
purpose  does  the  Beaver  cut  down  large  trees  of  which  he 
makes  no  use  whatever."  We  do  not  know,  perhaps  an 
itching  of  his  teeth  and  gums. 

The  old  Indian  paused,  became  silent,  and  then  in  a  low 


204      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

tone  [they]  talked  with  each  other  ;  after  which  he  continued 
his  discourse.  I  have  told  you  that  we  believe  in  years  long 
passed  away,  the  Great  Spirit  was  angry  with  the  Beaver, 
and  ordered  Weesaukejauk  (the  Flatterer)  to  drive  them  all 
from  the  dry  land  into  the  water ;  and  they  became  and 
continued  very  numerous ;  but  the  Great  Spirit  has  been, 
and  now  is,  very  angry  with  them  and  they  are  now  all  to  be 
destroyed.  About  two  winters  ago  Weesaukejauk  showed  to 
our  brethren,  the  Nepissings  and  Algonquins  the  secret  of 
their  destruction  ;  that  all  of  them  were  infatuated  with  the 
love  of  the  Castorum  of  their  own  species,  and  more  fond  of 
it  than  we  are  of  fire  water.  We  are  now  killing  the  Beaver 
without  any  labor,  we  are  now  rich,  but  [shall]  soon  be  poor, 
for  when  the  Beaver  are  destroyed  we  have  nothing  to  depend 
on  to  purchase  what  we  want  for  our  families,  strangers  now 
over  run  our  country  with  their  iron  traps,  and  we,  and  they 
will  soon  be  poor  : 

The  Indian  is  not  a  materialist,  nor  does  he  believe  in 
Instinct,  a  word  of  civilized  man,  which  accounts  for  great 
part  of  the  actions  of  Mankind,  and  of  all  those  of  animated 
nature ;  the  Indian  beHeves  that  every  animal  has  a  soul 
which  directs  all  it's  motions,  and  governs  all  it's  actions ; 
even  a  tree,  he  conceives  must  somehow  be  animated,  though 
it  cannot  stir  from  it's  place.  Some  three  years  ago  (1797) 
the  Indians  of  Canada  and  New  Brunswick,  on  seeing  the 
Steel  Traps  so  successful  in  catching  Foxes  and  other  animals, 
thought  of  applying  it  to  the  Beaver,  instead  of  [using]  the 
awkward  traps  they  made,  which  often  failed  ;  At  first  they 
were  set  in  the  landing  paths  of  the  Beaver,  with  about  four 
inches  of  water  on  them,  and  a  piece  of  green  aspin  for  a 
bait,  and  in  this  manner  more  were  caught  than  by  the 
common  way ;  but  the  beaver  paths  made  their  use  too 
limited  and  their  ingenuity  was  employed  to  find  a  bait  that 
would  allure  the  Beaver  to  the  place  of  the  trap  ;  various 
things  and  mixtures  of  ingredients  were  tried  without  success ; 


SWAN   RIVER   COUNTRY  205 

but  chance  made  some  try  if  the  male  could  not  be  caught 
by  adding  the  Castorum  of  the  female  ;  a  mixture  of  this 
Castorum  beat  up  with  the  green  buds  of  the  aspin  was 
made.  A  piece  of  dry  willow  of  about  eight  inches  in  length 
beat  and  bruised  fine,  was  dipped  in  the  mixture,  it  was 
placed  at  the  water  edge  about  a  foot  from  the  steel  trap, 
so  that  the  Beaver  should  pass  direct  over  it  and  be  caught ; 
this  bait  proved  successful,  but  to  the  surprise  of  the  Indians, 
the  females  were  caught  as  well  as  the  males  :  The  secret  of 
this  bait  was  soon  spread,  every  Indian  procured  from  the 
Traders  four  to  six  steel  traps,  the  weight  of  one  was  about 
six  to  eight  pounds ;  all  labor  was  now  at  an  end,  the  Hunter 
moved  about  at  pleasure  with  his  traps  and  infalHble  bait  of 
Castorum.  Of  the  infatuation  of  this  animal  for  Castorum 
I  saw  several  instances.  A  trap  was  negligently  fastened  by 
its  small  chain  to  the  stake  to  prevent  the  Beaver  taking  away 
the  trap  when  caught ;  it  slipped,  and  the  Beaver  swam  away 
with  the  trap,  and  it  was  looked  upon  as  lost.  Two  nights 
after  he  was  taken  in  a  trap  with  the  other  trap  fast  to  his 
thigh.  Another  time,  a  Beaver  passing  over  a  Trap  to  get 
the  Castorum,  had  his  hind  leg  broke,  with  his  teeth  he  cut 
his  broken  leg  off,  and  went  away,  we  concluded  he  would 
not  come  again,  but  two  nights  afterwards,  he  was  found 
fast  in  a  trap.  In  every  case  the  Castorum  is  taken  away. 
The  stick  with  this,  was  always  licked,  or  sucked  clean,  and 
seemed  to  act  as  a  suporific,  as  they  remained  more  than  a 
day,  without  coming  out  of  their  houses. 

The  Nepissings,  the  Algonquins  and  Iroquois  Indians 
having  exhausted  their  own  countries,  now  spread  themselves 
over  these  countries,  and  as  they  destroyed  the  Beaver, 
moved  forwards  to  the  northward  and  westward  ;  the  Natives, 
the  Nahathaways,  did  not  in  the  least  molest  them ;  the 
Chippaways  and  other  tribes  made  use  of  Traps  of  Steel ; 
and  of  the  Castorum.  For  several  years  all  these  Indians 
were  rich,  the  Women  and  Children,  as  well  as  the  Men, 


206     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

were  covered  with  silver  brooches,  Ear  Rings,  Wampum, 
Beads  and  other  trinkets.  Their  mantles  were  of  fine  scarlet 
cloth,  and  all  was  finery  and  dress.  The  Canoes  of  the 
Furr  Traders  were  loaded  with  packs  of  Beaver,  the  abundance 
of  the  article  lowered  the  London  prices.  Every  intelligent 
Man  saw  the  poverty  that  would  follow  the  destruction  of 
the  Beaver,  but  there  were  no  Chiefs  to  controul  it ;  all 
was  perfect  liberty  and  equaUty.  Four  years  afterwards  (I797) 
almost  the  whole  of  these  extensive  countries  were  denuded 
of  Beaver,  the  Natives  became  poor,  and  with  difficulty  pro- 
cured the  first  necessaries  of  life,  and  in  this  state  they  remain, 
and  probably  for  ever.  A  worn  out  field  may  be  manured, 
and  again  made  fertile  ;  but  the  Beaver,  once  destroyed 
cannot  be  replaced  :  they  were  the  gold  coin  of  the  country, 
with  which  the  necessaries  of  life  were  purchased. 

It  would  be  worth  while  for  some  Gentleman  who  has 
nothing  to  do ;  to  look  at  the  sales  by  auction ;  the  number 
of  skins  by  private  sale  ;  and  otherwise  disposed  of,  to  count 
the  number  of  Beavers  that  have  been  killed,  and  procured 
from  the  northern  part  of  this  Continent. 

We  now  journeyed  to  a  trading  House  in  charge  of  M"" 
Thorburn,^  in  Latitude  50-28-58  N  and  Longitude  101-45-45 

^  I  have  never  visited  the  site  of  this  old  trading  post,  but  Thompson's 
survey  and  observations  place  it  on  the  bank  of  the  Qu'Appelle  river. 
It  was  built  by  a  Canadian  trader  named  Robert  Grant  about  the  year 
1787,  and  was  named  by  him  Fort  Esperance.  It,  or  some  fort  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity,  was  continuously  occupied  thereafter  for  many  years. 
Its  chief  trade  was  with  the  Assiniboin  Indians  for  buffalo  meat. 
William  Thorburn,  who  was  in  charge  of  it  at  this  time,  was  doubtless 
the  same  man  who  was  in  charge  of  a  post  on  the  Saskatchewan  river 
when  Thompson  passed  down  it  in  1794  ;  and  in  1797  his  name  is  among 
the  list  of  partners  of  the  North-West  Company  as  in  charge  of  Red  river. 
From  this  trading  post  Thompson  travelled  south-eastward  across  the 
plains  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Souris  river,  and  in  his  journal  he  notes 
that  he  passed  an  "  old  fort,"  doubtless  Mountain  a  la  Bosse,  which  John 
McDonnell,  writing  about  1797,  says  "has  been  frequently  established 
and  as  often  abandoned,  owing  to  the  oppositions  that  came  into  that 
quarter."  It  was  situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Assiniboine  river, 
east  of  the  mouth  of  Gopher  Creek,  in  Sect.  11  or  12,  Tp.  10,  R.  25,  west  of 


SWAN    RIVER   COUNTRY  207 

West,  in  a  course  S  7  E  68  Miles.  Having  settled  the  position 
of  this  place,  we  proceeded  down  the  Stone  Indian  River  to 
the  House  in  charge  of  M'  John  M'^Donell,^  in  Latitude 
49-40-56  N  Longitude  99-27-15  West,  on  a  course  S  69  E 
131  miles.  These  distances  in  a  straight  line  are  along  the 
banks  of  the  Stone  Indian  River,  about  thirty  yards  in  breadth, 
but  deriving  it's  water  from  rains  and  Snows,  is  of  various 
depths,  according  to  the  seasons ;    in  autumn  [it  is]  always 

the  Principal  Meridian,  between  two  and  three  miles  south  of  the  village 
of  Routledge  on  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  The 
situation  was  a  striking  one  on  the  point  of  a  level  grassy  plain  which 
jutted  out  into  the  valley  at  an  elevation  of  200  feet  above  the  river. 
The  fort  would  appear  to  have  been  enclosed  by  a  stockade  200  by  250 
feet  on  the  sides  ;  and  within  the  enclosure  were  a  number  of  houses  for 
the  officers  and  men. 

1  John  McDonnell  was  a  brother  of  Miles  McDonnell,  the  first  Gover- 
nor of  the  Red  River  colony  under  Lord  Selkirk.  He  became  a  partner 
of  the  North-West  Company  about  1796,  and  remained  in  the  North- 
West  until  1 81 5,  when  he  sold  out  and  settled  in  the  township  of  Hawkes- 
bury,  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  where  he  died  and  was  buried  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  cemetery.  See  Masson,  Les  Bourgeois  de  la  Compagnie 
du  Nord-Ouest,  vol.  i.,  Quebec,  1889,  pp.  267-295. 

The  trading  post  which  was  occupied  by  McDonnell  was  situated  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Assiniboine  (Stone  Indian)  river,  about  two  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Souris  or  Mouse  river,  in  the  north-east  quarter 
of  Sect.  19,  Tp.  8,  R.  16,  west  of  the  Principal  Meridian,  and  three  miles 
north  of  Banting  on  the  south-western  branch  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway.  The  site  was  visited  by  me  in  1890,  and  at  that  time  evidences 
of  the  existence  of  this  post  could  be  seen  on  a  grassy  prairie  about  four 
or  five  acres  in  extent,  surrounded  by  a  forest  of  small  aspen  poplar,  near 
a  ford  where  an  old,  but  well-defined,  trail  crosses  the  river.  The  site  of 
the  post  was  marked  by  pits  and  mounds  which  represented  the  cellars 
and  chimneys  of  the  houses. 

The  ruins  of  another  old  trading  post,  possibly  one  that  had  belonged 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  were  said  to  be  clearly  marked  at  a  place 
about  two  miles  and  a  half  farther  up  the  stream,  and  also  on  its  north 
bank,  in  Sect.  35,  Tp.  8,  R.  17.  On  the  south  side  of  the  Assiniboine  river 
the  remains  of  two  other  trading  establishments  were  found  in  the  same 
year,  about  half  a  mile  apart.  Around  these  little  forts  the  lines  of  the 
palisades,  with  their  bastions  and  gateways,  could  readily  be  traced,  and 
within  the  stockades  were  the  remains  of  the  cellars  and  chimneys  of  a 
number  of  houses.  Pieces  of  burnt  clay  that  had  evidently  been  between 
the  logs  of  which  the  houses  had  been  built,  showed  that  the  houses  had 
been  destroyed  by  fire. 


208     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

shoal.  Its  course  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  great  Plains,  and 
the  south  west  side  of  the  low  Hills,  from  whence  it  receives 
several  Brooks,  and  from  the  Plains  the  Calling  River  and  a 
few  brooks.  Its  course  is  very  sinuous,  this,  with  it's  shoals, 
detains  the  Canoes  for  the  upper  trading  Houses  to  late  in 
the  season ;  From  M'  Grant's  to  M'  John  M'^Donell  the 
distance  is  in  a  direct  line  near  two  hundred  miles  which  the 
windings  of  the  River  increases  to  near  six  hundred  miles. 
This  River  everywhere  flows  thro'  a  pleasant  country  of  good 
soil,  and  in  time  to  come  will  no  doubt,  be  covered  with 
agricultural  population  ;  The  Bison,  the  Moose  and  the  Red 
Deer  with  two  species  of  the  Antelope,  give  to  the  Nahatha- 
way  Indians,  an  easy  subsistence  ;  but  in  a  short  time  the 
only  furrs  they  will  have  to  buy  the  necessities  they  want, 
and  cannot  now  do  without,  are  the  Wolf,^  Fox,^  Badger,^  and 
Musk  Rat,*  with  the  dried  meat  of  the  Bison  and  Deer.  The 
Stone  Indians,  a  numerous  tribe  of  the  Sieux  Nation  possess 
the  country  southward  and  westward  of  this  River,  to  the 
Missisourie  River,  but  this  latter  in  common  with  several 
other  Tribes.  They  are  friendly  to  the  white  people,  a  fine 
looking  race  of  Men  and  Women,  but  most  noted  Horse 
thieves  of  the  Horses  of  other  Tribes.  It  is  said  of  a  York- 
shire man  "  Give  him  a  bridle,  and  he  will  find  a  horse  "  ; 
but  these  will  find  both  the  bridles  and  the  Horses. 

We  remained  with  M"  John  M^Donell  twelve  days  :  in 
which  time  I  put  my  journal,  surveys  and  sketches  of  the 
countries  that  were  in  black  lead  into  ink ;  and  having  sealed 
them  up  directed  them  to  the  Agents  of  the  North  West 
Company. 

^  Canis  nubilus  Say.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Vulpes  fulva  regalis  Merriam.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  Taxidea  taxus  (Schreber).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Fiber  zibethicus  cinnamominus  Hollister.     [E.  A,  P.] 


CHAPTER    XIII 

JOURNEY   TO   MANDANE   VILLAGES 

Start  for  Mandane  Villages — Ventures — Cross  Stone  Indian 
River — Journal — Warned  by  Stone  Indians  to  be  on  our 
guard  against  the  Sieux — Take  great  Traverse  to  Turtle 
Hills — Jlsh  House — Camp  of  Stone  Indians — Massacre  in 
1794 — P^^^^  i'^  1802 — Storm  on  the  Plains — Men  Lost — 
All  day  in  camp — Buffalo  Hunt — Reach  Mouse  River — 
Follow  Mouse  River — Elbow  of  Mouse  River — Sieux 
Indian  war  party — Dog  Tent  Hills — Missisourie  Reached. 

HAVING  made  our  preparations  for  a  journey  to  the 
Mandane  Villages  on  the  banks  of  the  Missisourie 
River ;  on  the  zS'*"  November  1797,  we  set  off.^ 
Our  guide  and  interpreter,  who  had  resided  eight  years  in 
their  Villages  was  a  Mons""  Rene  Jussomme  who  fluently 
spoke  the  Mandane  Language.  M''  Hugh  M^'Crachan,  a 
good  hearted  Irishman,  who  had  been  often  to  the  Villages, 
and  resided  there  for  weeks  and  months  ;  and  seven  french 
Canadians,  a  fine,  hardy,  good  humoured  sett  of  Men,  fond 
of  full  feeding,  willing  to  hunt  for  it,  but  more  wiUing  to 
enjoy  it :  When  I  have  reproved  them,  for  what  I  thought 
Gluttony,  eating  full  eight  pounds  of  fresh  meat  p"^  day,  they 
have  told  me,  that,  their  greatest  enjoyment  of  hfe  was 
Eating.  They  are  all  extremely  ignorant,  and  without  the 
least  education,  and  appear  to  set  no  value  on  it.     All  these 

^  The  names  of  the  men  who  accompanied  Thompson  on  this  journey 
are  given  by  him  in  his  note-books  as  follows  :  "  Rene  Jussomme,  Joseph 
Boisseau,  Hugh  McCraken,  Alexis  Vivier,  Pierre  Gilbert,  Fra»  Perrault, 
Tousst  Vandril,  L»  Jos.  Houl,  J.  B**  Minie."  For  references  to  these 
men,  see  Coues,  New  Light,  p.  301,  &c. 

209  o 


210      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

excepting  my  servant  man,  A.  Brosseau,  who  had  been  a 
soldier,  were  free  traders  on  their  own  account  for  this  journey, 
each  of  them  on  credit  from  M*^  M'^Donell,  took  a  venture  in 
goods  and  trinkets  to  the  amount  of  forty  to  sixty  skins  to 
be  paid  in  furrs,  by  trading  with  the  natives  of  the  Villages. 
I  was  readily  supplied  with  every  thing  I  required  which  was 
chiefly  ammunition,  tobacco  and  a  few  trinkets  for  expenses. 
For  my  service  I  had  two  Horses.  Mons'^  Jussomme  had  one, 
and  the  men  thirty  dogs,  their  own  property,  each  two  hauled 
a  flat  sled  upon  which  their  venture  was  lashed  ;  these  Dogs 
had  all  been  traded  from  the  Stone  Indians,  who  make  great 
use  of  them  in  their  encampments.  They  were  all  like  half 
dog,  half  wolf,  and  always  on  the  watch  to  devour  every  thing 
they  could  get  their  teeth  on ;  they  did  not  [do]  willing 
work,  and  most  of  them  had  never  hauled  a  flat  sled,  but  the 
Canadians  soon  break  them  in,  by  constant  flogging,  in  which 
they  seem  to  take  great  delight ;  when  on  the  march  the  noise 
was  intolerable,  and  made  me  keep  two  or  three  miles  ahead. 

As  my  journey  to  the  Missisourie  is  over  part  of  the 
Great  Plains,  I  shall  give  it  in  the  form  of  a  journal,  this 
form,  however  duU,  is  the  only  method  in  my  opinion,  that 
can  give  the  reader  a  clear  idea  of  them.  With  our  three 
Horses  and  thirty  Dogs  with  their  Sleds,  we  crossed  the  Stone 
River  on  the  ice ;  the  Snow  on  the  ground  was  three  inches 
in  depth.  We  went  about  six  miles  and  put  up  in  the  woods 
of  the  Mouse  River,^  which  joins  the  Stone  Indian  River 
about  two  miles  below  the  House.  The  dogs  unused  to 
hauling  going  any  where,  and  every  where  from  the  Men, 
who  employed  themselves  all  the  way  in  swearing  at,  and 
flogging  them  ;  until  we  put  up,  when  the  Dogs  were  un- 
harnessed, a  piece  of  line  tied  round  the  neck  of  each,  and 
one,  or  both  fore  feet  were  brought  through  it,  to  keep  them 
quiet  and  from  straying  away.  At  8  pm  the  Thermometer 
20  degrees  below  zero. 

'  Souris  river. 


JOURNEY   TO    MANDANE   VILLAGES     211 

November  29'*".  A  westerly  breeze,  at  7  am  27  below 
zero,  the  Men  thought  it  too  cold  to  proceed. 

November  30"'.  7  am  32  being  64  degrees  below  the 
freezing  point.  9  pm  36  too  cold  to  proceed  over  the  open 
plains  :  and  certainly  an  intensity  of  cold  not  known  on  the 
same  parallel  of  Latitude  near  the  Mountains.  Necessity 
obliged  us  to  hunt  the  Bison,  we  killed  two  Bulls,  we  could 
bring  only  half  the  meat  to  the  Tent,  which  satisfied  our- 
selves and  the  Dogs. 

December  i*'.  A  WSW  Gale.  Thermometer  37  below 
Zero.  We  could  not  proceed  but  had  the  good  fortune  to 
kill  a  good  Bison  Cow  which  kept  us  in  good  humour.  The 
severe  cold  and  high  wind  made  the  Tent  very  smoky,  so 
that,  notwithstanding  the  bad  weather,  we  walked  about  in 
the  woods  the  greatest  part  of  the  day,  and  when  in  the  Tent 
we  had  to  lie  down. 

December  2"*^.  At  8  am  Ther  36,  at  8  pm  15,  the  wind 
WSW.     We  killed  a  Bison  Cow,  which  kept  the  Dogs  quiet. 

December  y^.  At  8  am  3,  at  8  pm  3  the  weather  was 
now  mild  but  a  WNW  Gale  came  on  with  snow  and  high 
drift  [so]  that  we  could  not  see  a  fourth  a  mile  from  us.  And 
our  journey  is  over  open  plains  from  one  patch  of  Wood  to 
another  patch ;  for  the  Mouse  River,  on  which  we  are 
camped,  has  Woods  only  in  places,  and  many  miles  distant 
from  each  other.  And  these  patches  of  Wood  must  be  kept 
in  sight  to  guide  over  the  plains  and  none  of  the  Men  knew 
the  use  of  the  Compass,  and  did  not  like  to  trust  it.  We 
could  not  proceed  and  the  Tent  was  disagreeable  with  smoke. 

December  4'**.  7  am  4  above  Zero  WSW  gale  of  Wind. 
At  9  AM  we  set  off,  and  went  eleven  miles  to  a  grove  of  Oaks,^ 
Ash,^  Elm,®  Nut  *  Trees,  and  other  hard  Woods  ;  which  are 

*  Quevcus  macvocarpa  Michx.     [E.  A.  P.J 

*  Fraxinus.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'   Ulmus  americana  Linn.     [E.  A,  P.] 

*  Probably  Hickory,  Hicoria,  species  uncertain.     [E.  A.  P.] 


212      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

always  the  Woods  of  this  River  :  At  this  place  we  came  to 
five  Tents  of  Stone  Indians,  who  as  usual  received  us  with 
kindness  ;  they  did  not  approve  of  our  journey  to  the  Missi- 
sotirie  :  and  informed  us,  that  some  skirmishes  had  taken 
place  between  the  Mandane  and  Sieux  Indians  in  which  the 
latter  lost  several  Men,  which  they  attributed  to  the  Ammuni- 
tion furnished  to  the  former  by  the  trading  parties  from  the 
Stone  Indian  River,  such  as  ours  were  ;  and  that  they  had 
determined  to  way  lay  us,  and  plunder  us  of  aU  we  had,  and 
also  take  all  our  scalps,  and  [they]  warned  us  to  be  on  our 
guarde ;  I  did  not  hke  this  news,  but  the  Men  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  it,  thinking  it  proceeded  from  hatred  to  the  Mandanes. 
We  then  followed  the  River  banks  for  seven  miles,  and  camped 
at  4  PM.  The  River  is  about  twenty  yards  wide,  at  present 
the  water  very  low. 

December  5'*'.  7  am  Ther  13  below  zero,  became  mild, 
in  the  afternoon  a  WSW  Gale  came  on  and  increased  to  a 
Storm  by  6  pm.  Mons""  Jussomme,  our  Guide,  informed  us, 
that  he  would  now  take  the  great  traverse  to  the  Turtle  Hill ; 
we  were  early  up,  and  by  yi  am  set  off  :  he  led  us  about 
South  four  miles  to  a  small  grove  of  Aspins  on  the  banks  of  a 
brook  thence  about  six  miles  to  the  Turtle  Brook  from  the 
Hill ;  thence  S  by  W  seven  miles  ;  we  now  came  on  a  rising 
ground  at  i  pm.  but  the  Turtle  Hill  was  not  in  sight ;  and 
all  before  and  around  us  a  boundless  plain;  and  Mons' 
Jussomme  could  not  say  where  we  were ;  the  weather 
appeared  threatening  and  preparing  for  a  Storm  ;  our  situa- 
tion was  alarming  :  and  anxiety  [was]  in  the  face  of  every 
man,  for  we  did  not  know  to  which  hand  to  turn  ourselves 
for  shelter  :  I  mounted  my  Horse  and  went  to  the  highest 
ground  near  us,  and  with  my  telescope  viewed  the  horizon 
aU  around,  but  not  the  least  vestige  of  woods  appeared  ;  but 
at  due  North  West  from  us,  where  there  appeared  the  tops 
of  a  few  Trees  like  Oaks.  They  anxiously  enquired  if  I  saw 
Woods.     I  told  them  what  I  had  seen,  and  that  with  my  old 


JOURNEY  TO   MANDANE   VILLAGES     213 

Soldier  I  should  guide  myself  by  the  Compass,  and  directly 
proceed  as  the  Woods  were  far  off ;  M^'Crachan  and  a 
Canadian  joined  us  ;  the  other  six  conferred  among  them- 
selves what  to  do,  they  had  no  faith  in  the  Compass  on  land, 
and  thought  best  to  march  in  some  direction  until  they 
could  see  woods  with  their  own  eyes ;  but  had  not  proceeded 
half  a  mile  before  all  followed  us,  thinking  there  would  be  a 
better  chance  of  safety  by  being  all  together.  The  Gale  of 
Wind  came  on,  and  kept  increasing.  The  Snow  was  four  to 
six  inches  in  depth  with  a  slight  crust  on  it.  We  held  on 
almost  in  despair  of  reaching  the  Woods  ;  fortunately  the 
Dogs  were  well  broken  in,  and  gave  us  no  trouble.  Night 
came  upon  us,  and  we  had  carefully  to  keep  in  file,  at  times 
calling  to  each  other  to  learn  that  none  were  missing.  At 
length  at  7  pm,  thank  good  Providence,  we  arrived  at  the 
Woods,  very  much  fatigued ;  walking  against  the  Storm  was 
as  laborious  as  walking  knee  deep  in  water.  We  got  up  our 
tent  and  placed  ourselves  under  shelter.  Although  we  had 
taken  six  hours  on  this  last  course,  yet  I  found  by  my 
Observations  we  had  come  only  thirteen  miles. 

December  6'*".  A  heavy  westerly  gale  of  wind  with  mild 
weather.  The  Horses  and  Dogs  as  well  as  ourselves  were 
too  much  fatigued  to  proceed.  Two  Bison  Bulls  were 
killed,  though  very  tough,  kept  away  hunger  and  fed  the 
Dogs. 

December  7"".  At  7  am  Ther  25,  only  five  degrees  below 
the  freezing  point,  a  fine  mild  day.  We  proceeded  five  miles 
up  the  Mouse  River  to  an  old  trading  House,  called  "  Ash 
House  "  ^  from  the  plenty  of  those  fine  Trees ;  it  had  to  be 
given  up,  from  it's  being  too  open  to  the  incursions  of  the 
Sieux  Indians.     Two  Stone  Indians  came  to  us.     They  said 

^  Thompson's  survey  places  this  post  sixteen  and  a  half  miles  south  and 
thirty-nine  miles  west  of  McDonnell's  House,  and  his  latitude  is  40°  27' 
32"  N.  It  was  probably  near  or  opposite  the  village  of  Hartney  in  Mani- 
toba, on  the  Canadian  Northern  Railway. 


214      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

their  camp  was  not  far  off.  Mons'  Jussomme's  Mare  and  my 
yellow  Horse  had  both  become  lame  of  each  one  foot,  and 
could  proceed  no  further  through  the  Plains,  each  of  these 
Horses  had  one  white  foot  and  three  black  feet ;  the  white 
foot  of  each  was  lame  in  the  same  manner,  the  hair  of  the 
white  foot  was  worn  away  by  the  hard  snow,  and  a  small 
hole  in  the  flesh  also  above  the  hoof.  The  three  black  feet 
had  not  a  hair  off  them.  My  other  Horse  was  dark  brown 
with  four  black  feet.  As  the  Horses  of  this  country  have  no 
shoes,  the  colour  of  the  hoof  is  much  regarded  ;  the  yellow 
hoof  with  white  hair  is  a  brittle  hoof  and  soon  wears  away ; 
for  this  reason,  as  much  as  possible,  the  Natives  take  only 
black  hoofed  Horses  on  their  War  expeditions.  As  the  camp 
of  Stone  Indians  were  going  to  the  house  of  M""  John  M'^Donell 
to  trade,  we  delivered  the  Horses  to  the  care  of  an  old  Indian 
to  be  taken  to  the  house.  Mons""  Jussomme  was  now  without 
a  Horse  and  had  to  purchase  Dogs. 

December  8'*".  7  am  Ther  18  below  Zero.  A  cold  day 
which  was  employed  in  hunting,  without  success.  I  observed 
for  Latitude  and  Longitude 

December  9'*^.  7  am  Ther  26  below  Zero.  We  went  up 
the  River  SW  ']\  miles  to  eight  tents  of  Stone  Indians ; 
who  treated  us  with  hospitality,  and  each  of  us  got  a  good 
meal.  Learning  that  we  were  going  to  the  Missisourie,  they 
warned  us  to  beware  of  the  Sieux  Indians,  whom  they  thought 
would  lie  in  wait  for  us  at  the  Dog  Tent  Hills,  and  [to]  keep 
on  our  guard  against  a  surprise.  We  offered  a  high  reward 
to  a  young  man  to  guide  us  to  the  Mandane  Villages,  but 
however  tempting  the  offer,  neither  himself  nor  any  other 
would  accept  the  offer.  They  plainly  told  us  that  we  might 
expect  to  find  the  Sieux  Indians  on  our  road  ;  and  they  were 
not  on  good  terms  with  the  Mandanes.  We  went  about 
three  miles  and  put  up  in  view  of  the  Turtle  HiU.  We  are 
near  the  place,  where  in  1794,  fifteen  Tents  of  Stone  Indians 
were    destroyed    by    a    large    War   Party    of    Sieux    Indians, 


JOURNEY   TO   MANDANE   VILLAGES     215 

although  of  the  same  Nation.^  From  their  own  accounts, 
some  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  a  feud  broke  out,  and  several 
were  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides ;  about  five  hundred 
Tents  separated  from  the  main  body,  and  took  up  their 
hunting  grounds  on  the  Red  River  and  the  Plains  stretching 
north  westward  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Saskatchewan 
River  to  within  300  miles  of  the  Mountains,  and  being  in 
alliance  and  strict  confederacy  with  the  Nahathaways,  who 
accompanied  them  to  war  they  were  powerful,  and  with  their 
allies,  made  their  brethren  the  Sieux  Nation,  feel  the  Weight 
of  their  resentment  for  several  years,  until  the  small  pox  of 
1782  came,  which  involved  them  all  in  one  common  calamity, 
and  very  much  reduced  the  numbers  of  all  parties.  The 
Sieux  had  lost  several  of  their  men,  who  went  to  hunt  but 
did  not  return,  and  suspicion  fell  on  the  Stone  Indians  and 
their  allies.  They  determined  on  revenge,  and  the  destruction 
of  these  fifteen  Tents  was  the  result.  The  Sieux  afterwards 
found  the  loss  of  their  Men  was  by  the  Chippaways,  their 
never  ceasing  enemies,  and  deeply  regretted  what  they  had 
done ;  the  old  Men  made  an  apology,  and  proffered  peace, 
which  was  accepted  in  181 2,  and  a  reunion  took  place;  and 
in  this  Peace  their  allies  and  confederates  were  included  ; 
and  which  continues  to  this  day. 

December  10'^.  7  am  Ther  20  below  zero  :  The 
hummock  of  Woods  on  the  Turtle  Hill,  which  was  our  mark, 
gave  our  course  by  the  compass  S  30°  E.  As  we  had  to  cross 
a  plain  of  twenty  two  miles,  and  having  felt  the  severe  changes 
of  weather,  I  desired  the  Men  to  follow  close  in  file,  for 
they  now  had  faith  in  the  Compass.  At  ji  am  our  bit  of 
a  caravan  set  off ;  as  the  Dogs  were  fresh,  we  walked  at  a 
good  pace  for  some  time,  a  gentle  south  wind  arose  ;  and 
kept  increasing ;    by  10  am  it  was  a  heavy  Gale,  with  high 

^  In  his  original  notes,  Thompson  says  that  on  December  i6  they  were 
on  the  very  spot  where  these  fifteen  tents  of  Assiniboin  were  killed  "  last 
year." 


216      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

drift  and  dark  weather,  so  much  so  that  I  had  to  keep  the 
Compass  in  my  hand,  for  I  could  not  trust  to  the  Wind. 
By  Noon,  it  was  a  perfect  Storm,  we  had  no  alternative  but 
to  proceed,  which  we  did  slowly  and  with  great  labor,  for 
the  Storm  was  ahead,  and  the  snow  drift  in  our  faces.  Night 
came  on,  I  could  no  longer  see  the  Compass,  and  had  to  trust 
to  the  Wind  ;  the  weather  became  mild  with  small  rain,  but 
the  Storm  continued  with  darkness  ;  some  of  the  foremost 
called  to  lie  down  where  we  were,  but  as  it  was  evident  we 
were  ascending  a  gentle  rising  ground,  we  continued  and 
soon,  thank  good  Providence,  my  face  struck  against  some 
Oak  sapHngs,  and  I  passed  the  word  that  we  were  in  the 
Woods,  a  fire  was  quickly  made,  and  as  it  was  on  an  elevated 
place  it  was  seen  afar  off  :  As  yet  the  only  one  with  me, 
was  my  servant  who  led  the  Horse,  and  we  anxiously  awaited 
the  others  ;  they  came  hardly  able  to  move,  one,  and  then 
another,  and  in  something  more  than  half  an  hour,  nine  had 
arrived ;  each  with  Dogs  and  Sleds,  but  one  Man,  and  a 
Sled  with  the  Dogs  were  missing  ;  to  search  for  the  latter 
was  useless  :  but  how  to  find  the  former,  we  were  at  a  loss  : 
and  remained  so  for  another  half  an  hour,  when  we  thought 
we  heard  his  voice,  the  Storm  was  still  rageing,  we  extended 
ourselves  within  call  of  each  other,  the  most  distant  man 
heard  him  plainly,  went  to  him,  raised  him  up,  and  with 
assistance  brought  him  to  the  fire,  and  we  all  thanked  the 
Almighty  for  our  preservation.  He  told  us  he  became  weak, 
fell  several  times,  and  at  length  he  could  not  get  up,  and 
resigned  himself  to  perish  in  the  storm,  when  by  chance 
hfting  up  his  head  he  saw  the  lire,  this  gave  him  courage  ; 
stand  he  could  not  but  Qie]  shuffled  away  on  hands  and 
knees  through  the  snow,  bawling  with  all  his  might  until  we 
fortunately  heard  him.  We  threw  the  Tent  over  some  Oak 
sapplings  and  got  under  shelter  from  showers  of  rain,  hail 
and  sleet  :  At  Ji  pm  Ther  36  being  four  degrees  above  the 
freezing  point ;    by  a  south  wind  making  in  little  more  than 


JOURNEY   TO   MANDANE   VILLAGES     217 

twelve  hours  a  difference  of  temperature  of  fifty  six  degrees. 
I  had  weathered  many  a  hard  gale,  but  this  was  the  most 
distressing  day  I  had  yet  seen. 

December  ii"".  At  8  am  Ther  37,  being  five  degrees 
above  the  freezing  point.  A  south  gale  with  showers  of  snow  ; 
a  mild  day,  but  we  were  all  too  tired  to  proceed.  A  fine 
grove  of  Aspins  was  within  thirty  yards,  which  the  darkness 
prevented  us  seeing ;  we  removed  our  Tent  to  it.  The 
Dogs  and  Sled  missing  belonged  to  Francis  Hoole  and  the 
value  of  sixty  skins  in  goods,  with  all  his  things  were  on  it, 
but  none  would  accompany  him  to  look  for  it,  although  he 
offered  the  half  of  all  that  was  on  it ;  so  much  was  the  chance 
of  the  similar  distress  of  yesterday  dreaded. 

December  iz'*".  Ther  30  two  degrees  below  the  freezing 
point.  Wind  a  SSW  gale.  We  went  eight  miles  along  the 
north  side  of  the  Turtle  Hill  and  put  up.  We  were  all  very 
hungry,  and  the  Dogs  getting  weak ;  we  had  seriously  to 
attend  to  hunting ;  a  small  herd  of  Bulls  were  not  far  off, 
and  three  of  us  went  off  to  them,  the  two  that  were  with  me 
were  to  approach  by  crawling  to  them,  and  if  they  missed,  I 
was  to  give  chase  on  horseback,  for  which  I  was  ready ;  after 
an  hour  spent  in  approaching  them,  they  both  fired,  but 
without  effect,  the  herd  started,  I  gave  chase,  came  up  with 
them  and  shot  a  tolerable  good  Bull ;  This  is  the  usual 
manner  of  hunting  the  Bison  by  the  Indians  of  the  Plains  : 
This  gave  us  provisions  for  the  present  and  the  Dogs  feasted 
on  the  offall. 

December  13"*.  At  7  am  Ther  15  below  zero,  clear 
weather  with  a  north  gale  and  high  drift ;  we  could  not 
proceed,  but  as  usual  in  clear  weather,  I  observed  for  Lati- 
tude, Longitude  and  the  Variation  of  the  compass.  We  took 
the  case  of  Francis  Hoole  into  consideration  who  had  lost  his 
Dogs  and  all  his  venture ;  and  each  of  us  agreed  to  give  him 
goods  to  the  value  of  two  beavers,  and  haul  it  for  him,  which 
gave   him   a   venture   of    eighteen   skins,    and   the   Irishman 


218      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

M'^Crachan,  and  myself  doubled  it.  For  it  was  out  of  his 
power  to  return  alone. 

December  14"".  At  7  am  Ther  18  below  zero.  At  8  am 
set  off,  and  kept  along  the  Hill  to  shorten  as  much  as  possible 
the  wide  Plain  we  have  to  cross  to  the  Mouse  River.  We 
proceeded  in  a  SE  course  about  seventeen  miles  ;  and  put 
up,  the  day  fine,  though  cold  :  As  this  was  the  last  place 
where  Poles  to  pitch  the  Tent  could  be  got,  we  cut  the  number 
required  of  dry  Aspin  to  take  with  us. 

December  15'^.  At  7  am  Ther  21  below  zero.  Having 
no  provisions,  part  of  the  Men  went  a  hunting,  and  managed 
to  kill  an  old  Bull,  who  preferred  fighting  to  running  away  ; 
after  boiling  a  piece  of  it  for  three  hours,  it  was  still  too 
tough  to  be  eaten,  but  by  those  who  have  sharp  teeth,  the 
tripe  of  a  Bull  is  the  best  part  of  the  animal. 

December  16'^.  At  7  am  Ther  19  below  zero.  We  could 
go  no  further  along  the  Turtle  Hill,  and  had  to  cross  a  wide 
Plain  to  a  grove  of  Oaks  on  the  Mouse  River  ;  the  wind 
blowing  a  North  Gale  with  drift,  the  Men  were  unwilling  to 
proceed  having  suffered  so  much,  but  as  [the]  wind  was  on 
our  backs  I  persuaded  them  to  follow  me,  and  at  8.20  am 
we  set  [out],  and  safely  arrived  at  the  Grove  ;  our  course 
S  by  W  nineteen  miles.  On  our  way  we  fortunately  killed 
a  fat  Cow  Bison,  which  was  a  blessing,  for  we  had  not  tasted 
a  bit  of  good  meat  for  many  days,  and  we  had  nothing  else 
to  subsist  on.  In  the  evening  our  conversation  turned  on 
the  Sieux  waylaying  us  :  for  we  were  approaching  the  Dog 
Tent  Hills,  where  we  were  to  expect  them,  and  our  situation 
with  so  many  dogs  and  loaded  sleds  to  take  care  of,  was  in  a 
manner  defenceless,  but  we  had  proceeded  too  far  to  return, 
my  hopes  lay  in  the  lateness  of  the  season,  and  the  effects 
the  stormy  weather  must  have  on  a  War  Party,  who  frequently 
take  no  Tents  with  them  :  The  last  camp  of  Stone  Indians 
advised  us  to  leave  the  usual  road  ;  cut  wood,  and  haul  it 
with  us  to  make  a  fire  for  two  nights,  and  boldly  cross  to  the 


JOURNEY   TO   MANDANE   VILLAGES     219 

Missisourie,  which  could  be  done  in  three  days,  but  this  was 
too  much  dreaded  to  be  followed.  In  the  evening  a  very 
heavy  gale  came  on  from  the  NW**.  We  were  thankful  that 
we  had  crossed  the  Plain,  and  were  well  sheltered  in  a  grove 
of  tall  Oaks. 

December  17'^.  At  7  am  Ther  22  below  zero,  at  9  pm 
Ther  23  below  zero.  NW  Gale  with  snow  drift.  Too  cold 
to  proceed. 

December  18'^.  At  7  am  Ther  32  below  zero.  2  pm  7 
below  zero,  too  cold  to  proceed  although  a  fine  clear  day. 
We  saw  a  herd  of  Cows  about  a  mile  from  the  tent,  we 
crawled  to  them,  and  killed  three,  then  went  to  the  tent, 
harnessed  the  dogs  to  bring  the  meat.  While  we  were 
busy,  a  dreadful  Storm  came  on,  fortunately  an  aft  wind, 
had  it  been  a  head  wind,  we  could  not  have  reached  the 
Tent. 

December  19"".  At  7  am  Ther  17  below  zero.  9  pm 
24  below  zero.  All  day  a  dreadful  Storm  from  the  west- 
ward, with  high  drift.  The  Sky  was  as  obscure  as  night,  the 
roaring  of  the  wind  was  like  the  waves  of  the  stormy  sea  on 
the  rocks.  .  It  was  a  terrible  day,  in  the  evening  the  Storm 
abated.  My  men  attributed  these  heavy  gales  of  wind  and 
their  frequency  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  ;  but  this  cannot 
be  the  cause  for  no  such  stormy  winds  are  known  to  the 
westward  ;  here  are  no  hills  worth  notice,  all  is  open  to  the 
free  passage  of  the  winds  from  every  quarter ;  for  my  part  I 
am  utterly  at  a  loss,  to  account  for  such  violent  winds  on  this 
part  of  the  Plains,  and  this  may  account  for  the  few  Bison 
we  have  seen,  and  the  smallness  of  the  herds,  which  rarely 
exceed  twenty ;  whereas  to  the  westward,  and  near  the 
Mountains  the  ground  is  covered  with  them,  and  hitherto 
we  have  not  seen  the  track  of  the  Deer,  and  even  a  Wolf  is 
a  rare  animal,  as  for  Birds  we  have  seen  none  :  even  the 
long,  strong  winged  Hawks  are  not  known.  What  can  be  the 
cause  of    these  Storms,  and  the  severe  cold  of  this  country. 


220      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Our  Latitude  is  now  48  .  9 .  l6  North,  Longitude  100  .  34 .  12 
West,  which  ought  to  have  a  milder  cHmate 

December  20"".  At  7  am  ^  below  zero.  NNW  breeze, 
though  very  cold,  yet  a  fine  day.  At  9^-  am  we  set  off,  and 
went  up  along  the  Mouse  River,  about  South,  thirteen 
miles,  and  at  3-J-  pm  put  up  close  to  the  River.  The  Woods 
are  of  Oak,  Ash,  Elm  and  some  other  hard  woods,  mixed  with 
Poplar  and  Aspin  but  no  Pines :  When  the  grass  is  set  on 
fire  in  the  summer,  which  is  too  often  the  case,  all  the  above 
woods,  except  the  Aspin,  have  a  thick  coat  of  Bark  around 
them,  to  which  the  grass  does  Httle,  or  no  injury  ;  but  the 
thin  bark  of  the  Aspin  however  slightly  scorched  prevents 
the  growth  of  the  Tree,  and  it  becomes  dry,  and  makes  the 
best  of  fuel,  having  very  Httle  smoke. 

December  21*'.  A  stormy  morning  with  snow  to  11  am 
then  clear  and  fine.  We  could  not  proceed  as  Hugh 
M^'Crachan  was  taken  ill.  An  old  Bull  was  killed  for  the 
Dogs.     At  7  PM  Ther  26  below  zero. 

December  22"**.  At  7  am  Ther  32  below  zero,  NW 
breeze  and  clear,  keen  cold  day.  At  S-J-  am  we  set  off,  still 
following  up  the  River,  SSW^  for  fifteen  miles  and  put  up. 
Where  there  are  Woods  along  this  River  ;  they  are  in  narrow 
ledges  of  forty,  to  one  hundred  yards  in  width.  All  the  rest 
are  the  boundless  Plains. 

December  23^*^.  A  cloudy,  cold  day,  with  snow  until 
noon,  when  it  became  fine  and  clear.  We  set  off  up  along 
the  River  SW  twelve  miles  and  camped  :  Three  Men  went 
ahead  to  hunt,  they  killed  four  Bulls,  no  Cows  in  sight.  We 
have  now  plenty  to  eat,  but  very  tough  meat,  so  much  so, 
we  get  fairly  tired  eating  before  we  can  get  a  belly  full.  We 
are  now  at  the  Elbow  of  the  Mouse  River  ^  and  can  follow  it 
no  farther  ;   as  the  River  now  comes  from  the  northwestward 

*  The  latitude  given  in  Thompson's  notes  is  48°  9'  15"  N.  He  must 
have  left  the  Souris  river  about  the  present  site  of  the  village  of  Villard, 
in  McHenry  county,  in  North  Dakota. 


JOURNEY  TO   MANDANE  VILLAGES     221 

and  is  mostly  bare  of  Woods.  Although  a  small  Stream  of 
fifteen  yards  in  breadth,  it  has  every  where,  like  all  the 
Rivers  of  the  Plains,  double  banks  :  the  first  bank  is  that 
which  confines  the  stream  of  water,  and  [is]  generally  about 
ten  to  twenty  feet  in  height ;  then  on  each  side  is  a  level 
of  irregular  breadth,  generally  called  Bottom,  of  thirty  to 
six  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  from  which  rises  steep,  grassy 
sloping  banks  to  the  heights  of  sixty  to  one  hundred  feet 
which  is  the  common  level  of  the  Plain.  Large  rivers  have 
often  three  banks  to  the  level  of  the  Plain.  It  is  in  these 
Bottoms  that  the  Trees  grow,  and  are  sheltered  from  the 
Storms  :  for  on  the  level  of  the  Plain,  it  is  not  possible  a 
tree  can  grow  but  v/here  the  Bottoms  are  wide  enough,  the 
Trees  come  to  perfection  :  here  I  measured  Oaks  of  eighteen 
feet  girth,  tall  and  clean  grown,  the  Elm,  Ash,  Beach  [Birch] 
and  Bass  Wood,^  with  Nut  Trees  were  in  full  proportion.  For 
these  Bottoms  have  a  rich  soil  from  the  overflowing  of  the 
River 

December  24'''.  Wind  south,  a  steady  breeze,  with  low 
drift,  fine  mild  weather.  At  Sf  am  we  set  off,  and  went 
ESE  i  a  mile  to  the  heights  of  the  River ;  and  in  sight  of 
the  Dog  Tent  Hill  ;^  our  course  to  a  Ravine  was  S  48  W  19 
miles  ;  across  a  plain,  the  ground  was  undulating  in  form, 
without  any  regular  valHes ;  but  has  many  knolls  ;  as  we 
approached  the  Hill,  we  anxiously  kept  our  eyes  on  it,  being 
the  place  the  Sieux  Indians  were  to  way  lay  us  :  About 
2  PM  I  perceived  something  moving  on  the  ridge  of  the  hill, 
and  by  my  Telescope,  saw  a  number  of  Horsemen  riding  to 
the  southward  ;  I  made  signs  to  the  men  to  lie  down  which 
they  did,  after  watching  their  motions  for  about  ten  minutes  ; 
I  saw  plainly  they  did  not  see  us,  and  rode  descending  the 
west  side  of  the  Hill,  and  were  soon  out  of  sight ;  thus  kind 
Providence,  by  the  Storms,  and  lateness  of  the  season  saved 

^  Tilia  americana  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Now  known  as  Dog  Den  Butte. 


222      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

our  lives  and  property.^  About  a  Month  after,  the  Stone 
Indians  informed  M""  M^'Donell,  that  the  above  with  the  want 
of  provisions  were  the  occasion  of  their  leaving  the  Hill ; 
and  they  would  return.  From  the  eastward,  the  Dog  Tent 
Hill  (by  the  Stone  Indians  Sungur  Teebe)  has  the  appear- 
ance of  an  irregular  bank  of  about  200  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  east  Plains,  in  steep  slopes  of  hard  gravelly  soil ;  with 
nine  or  ten  gullies,  or  ravines,  each  has  a  small  spring  of 
water,  with  a  few  Oak  and  Elm  Trees  in  their  bottoms ;  we 
put  up  at  4^-  PM  at  the  western  spring  and  it's  few  trees  of 
Oak  and  Elm.     At  7  pm  Ther  15  below  Zero. 

December  26"*.  7  am  Ther  76  below  zero.  Noon  Ther  2, 
at  8  PM  2  above  zero.  Early  a  terrible  Storm  arose  from 
SSW  and  raged  all  day ;  the  sound  of  the  wind  was  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea  on  a  shoal  shore.  Joseph  Houle  killed  a 
good  Cow  but  could  only  bring  some  of  the  meat  on  his  back. 

December  27*^.  At  7  am  Ther  5  at  noon  20  at  9  pm  25 
above  zero.  The  day  was  clear  with  a  heavy  gale  from  WSW. 
We  could  not  proceed  and  had  no  success  in  hunting.  We 
cut  fire  wood  to  take  with  us ;  for  we  had  learned  the  Man- 
danes  and  Pawnees,  were  hostile  to  each  [other],  and  a  large 
Village  of  the  latter  was  but  a  short  distance  below  the 
former,  and  it  was  to  this  Village  we  were  journeying ;  and 
having  very  frequently  conversed  with  Mess"  Jussomme  and 
M'^Crachan,  on  the  Roads,  the  customs  and  the  manners  of 
the  several  Tribes  of  Indians  of  these  countries  I  became 
acquainted  with  what  we  had  to  expect ;  in  our  defenceless 
state  I  was  determined  to  avoid  any  collision  with  the  Natives 
that  were  hostile  to  us.  And  with  the  consent  of  all  the 
Men,  took  the  resolution,  to  come  on  the  Missisourie  River 
several  miles  above  the  lower  Mandane  Village,  and  to  do 
this  we  had  a  march  of  two  days  across  the  open  Plains. 

December  28"'.      At  7  am  Ther  20  above  zero.     A  fine 

^  In  his  notes  Thompson  says  that  it  was  on  December  28,  after  he  had 
left  the  Dog  Tent  Hill,  that  he  saw  these  Indians. 


JOURNEY   TO   MANDANE   VILLAGES     223 

clear  mild  day,  thank  God.  At  7I  am  we  set  off  taking  fire- 
wood and  Tent  poles  with  us,  and  proceeded  S  40  W  22 
miles  and  at  4^  pm,  pitched  our  Tent  to  pass  the  night.  The 
ground  we  passed  over  is  far  from  being  level,  and  with  six 
inches  of  snow,  made  tiresome  walking ;  we  saw  but  few 
Bisons,  and  about  an  hour  before  we  put  up,  saw  ten  or 
twelve  Horsemen  far  on  our  left.     The  night  was  fine. 

December  29'''.  A  very  fine  mild  day.  At  7.20  am  we 
set  off,  and  seeing  the  heights  of  the  Missisourie,  changed  our 
course  to  S  25  W  15  miles,  to,  and  down,  the  heights  of  the 
River  ;  and  at  3-i-  pm  put  up  close  to  the  Stream  in  a  fine 
bottom  of  hard  wood.  The  country  hilly,  and  tiresome 
walking  ;  we  lost  much  time,  partly  in  viewing  the  country, 
but  more  so  in  bringing  back  the  Dogs  from  running  after 
the  Bisons,  of  which  there  were  many  herds ;  An  old  Bull 
disdained  to  run  away,  but  fortunately  attacked  the  Sled, 
instead  of  the  Dogs,  and  would  soon  have  had  it  in  pieces, 
had  not  the  Men  made  him  move  off,  run  he  would  not. 
About  two  miles  from  the  River  two  Fall  Indians  came  to 
us,  and  killed  a  good  Bull  for  us  :  The  River  is  frozen  over, 
it's  width  290  yards  but  the  water  is  low.  The  woods  the 
same  as  those  on  the  Mouse  River,  with  Poplar,  Aspin,  and 
Birch  all  of  good  growth. 

December  30'*".  A  northerly  gale  with  cloudy  weather. 
At  7.40  AM  we  set  off  and  walked  partly  on  the  River  ice, 
and  partly  on  the  Bottoms  S  6  E  6  miles  to  the  upper  Village 
of  the  Fall  Indians  :  S  27  E  7  miles  to  the  principal  Village 
of  these  people.  SE  li  mile  to  another  Village,  thence 
S  II  E  2  miles  to  the  fourth  Village  and  S  55  E  one  mile  to 
the  principal  Village  of  the  Mandanes.^ 

Thus  from  bad  weather,  we  have  taken  thirty  three  days 

^  These  villages  were  stretched  out  for  eleven  and  a  half  miles  along 
the  banks  of  the  Missouri  river,  the  lowest  and  largest  of  them  being  in 
latitude  47°  17'  22"  N.  This  would  place  them  between  Stanton  and 
Hancock  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  in  North  Dakota.  For  further 
information  regarding  these  villages,  see  Coues,  New  Light. 


224      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

to  perform  a  journey  of  ten  days  in  good  weather,  but  [this] 
has  given  me  the  opportunity  of  determining  the  Latitude 
of  six  different  places  ;  and  the  Longitude  of  three,  on  the 
Road  to  the  River.  The  distance  we  have  gone  over  is 
238  miles. 

Three  of  the  Men  staid  at  the  Fall  Indian  ^  Villages ;  one 
with  Manoah  a  frenchman  who  has  long  resided  with  these 
people  ;  the  rest  of  us  came  to  the  great  Village  ;  and  at 
different  houses  took  up  our  quarters. 

1  In  his  notes,  Thompson  speaks  of  these  people  as  Willow  Indians, 
though  he  says  that  they  were  commonly  called  "  flying  Fall  Indians." 
Later,  he  evidently  confuses  them  with  the  Fall  or  Atsina  Indians,  who 
were  in  league  with  the  Blackfeet. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

MANDANES   AND   THEIR   CUSTOMS 

Chi  f  pew  ay  War — Meet  the  "  Big  White  Man  " — Five  Villages 
— Stockades  —  Form  of  Houses  —  Population —  Weapons — 
Manner  of  building  houses — Furniture — Manoah — Farming 
implements — Produce  raised — Meals — Character — Law  of 
Retaliation  and  compounding  by  presents — Dress — Appear- 
ance— Amusements — Curse  of  the  Mandanes — Annual  Cere- 
mony among  the  Mandanes — Language  of  Fall  Indians — 
Fall  Indians. 

THE  inhabitants  of  these  Villages,  have  not  been  many- 
years  on  the  banks  of  the  Missisourie  River  :  their 
former  residence  was  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
southern  branches  of  the  Red  River ;  and  also  along  it's 
banks  ;  where  the  soil  is  fertile  and  easily  worked,  with  their 
simple  tools.  Southward  of  them  were  the  Villages  of  the 
Pawnees,  with  whom  they  were  at  peace,  except  [for]  occa- 
sional quarrels ;  south  eastward  of  them  were  the  Sieux 
Indians,  although  numerous,  their  stone  headed  arrows  could 
do  Httle  injury  ;  on  the  north  east  were  the  Chippeways  in 
possession  of  the  Forests ;  but  equally  weak  until  armed  with 
Guns,  iron  headed  arrows  and  spears  :  The  Chippaways 
silently  collected  in  the  Forests ;  and  made  war  on  the 
nearest  Village,  destroying  it  with  fire,  when  the  greater  part 
of  the  Men  were  hunting  at  some  distance,  or  attacking  the 
Men  when  hunting  ;  and  thus  harassing  them  when  ever 
they  thought  proper.  The  mischief  done,  they  retreated  into 
the  forests,  where  it  was  too  dangerous  to  search  for  them. 
The  Chippaways  had  the  policy  to  harrass  and  destroy  the 

225  p 


226      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Villages  nearest  to  them,  leaving  the  others  in  security.  The 
people  of  this  Village  removed  westward  from  them,  and 
from  stream  to  stream,  the  Villages  in  succession,  until  they 
gained  the  banks  of  the  Missisourie  ;  where  they  have  built 
their  Villages  and  remain  in  peace  from  the  Chippaways,  the 
open  Plains  being  their  defence. 

Mons'  Jussome  introduced  me  to  a  Chief  called  the  "  Big 
White  Man  "  ;  which  well  designated  him  ;  and  told  him  I 
was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  white  men,  and  did  not  concern 
myself  with  trade,  which  somewhat  surprised  him,  until  told 
that  my  business,  was  to  see  the  countries,  converse  with  the 
Natives,  and  see  how  they  could  be  more  regularly  supplied 
with  Arms,  Ammunition  and  other  articles  they  much 
wanted  :  this  he  said  would  be  very  good  ;  as  sometimes 
they  were  many  days  without  ammunition.  Our  things  were 
taken  in,  and  to  myself  and  my  servant  Joseph  Boisseau,  was 
shown  a  bed  for  each  of  us.  My  curiosity  was  excited  by  the 
sight  of  these  Villages  containing  a  native  agricultural  popula- 
tion ;  the  first  I  had  seen  and  I  hoped  to  obtain  much  curious 
information  of  the  past  times  of  these  people  ;  and  for  this 
purpose,  and  to  get  a  ready  knowledge  of  their  manners  and 
customs  Mess"  Jussomme  and  M^Crachen  accompanied  me 
to  every  Village  but  the  information  I  obtained  fell  far 
short  of  what  I  had  expected  ;  both  of  those  who  accompanied 
me,  were  illiterate,  without  any  education,  and  either  did  not 
understand  my  questions,  or  the  Natives  had  no  answers  to 
give.  I  shall  put  together  what  I  saw  and  what  I  learned. 
In  company  with  those  I  have  mentioned  ;  we  examined  the 
Villages  and  counted  the  houses.  The  upper  Village  has 
thirty  one  Houses  and  seven  Tents  of  Fall  Indians.  The 
Village  next  below,  is  called  the  Great  Village  of  the  above 
people,  it  contains  eighty  two  Houses,  is  situated  on  the 
Turtle  River,  a  short  distance  above  it's  confluence  with  the 
Missisourie.  The  next  Village  has  fifty  two  Houses,  and  is 
also  on  the  Turtle  river  ;   This  Village  was  the  residence  of 


MANDANES   AND   THEIR  CUSTOMS     227 

Manoah.  A  few  houses  were  of  Fall  Indians,  the  other 
Houses  were  of  Mandanes.  The  fourth  Village  was  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Missisourie,  of  forty  houses  of  Mandanes. 
The  fifth  and  last  Village  contained  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
houses  of  Mandanes.  Except  the  upper  village  of  the  Fall 
Indians,  they  were  all  strongly  stockaded  with  Posts  of  Wood 
of  ten  to  twelve  inches  diameter ;  about  two  feet  in  the 
ground  and  ten  feet  above  it,  with  numerous  holes  to  fire 
through ;  they  went  round  the  Village,  in  some  places  close 
to  the  houses  ;  there  were  two  doorways  to  each  of  the 
Stockades,  on  opposite  sides ;  wide  enough  to  admit  a  Man 
on  Horseback.  I  saw  no  doors,  or  gates ;  they  are  shut  up 
when  required,  with  Logs  of  wood. 

The  houses  were  all  of  the  same  architecture  ;  the  form 
of  each,  and  every  one  was  that  of  a  dome,  regularly  built ; 
the  house  in  which  I  resided,  was  one  of  the  largest  :  the 
form  a  circle,  probably  drawn  on  the  ground  by  a  line  from 
the  centre ;  On  this  circle  was  the  first  tier  of  boards,  a  few 
inches  in  the  ground,  and  about  six  feet  above  it,  all  incHning 
inwards  ;  bound  together  on  the  top  by  circular  pieces  of 
wood ;  on  the  outside  of  about  five  inches,  and  on  the  inside 
of  about  three  inches  in  width ;  and  in  these  were  also  in- 
serted the  lower  end  of  another  set  of  boards  of  about  five 
feet  in  length ;  and  bound  together  on  their  tops  in  the 
same  manner ;  but  inclining  inwards  at  a  greater  angle  than 
the  lower  tier ;  and  thus  in  succession,  each  tier  the  boards 
were  shorter,  and  more  inclined  inwards,  until  they  were 
met  at  the  top,  by  a  strong  circular  piece  of  wood  of  about 
three  feet  diameter ;  to  which  they  were  fastened ;  and 
which  served  to  admit  the  Hght,  and  let  out  the  Smoke  : 
The  house  in  which  I  lodged  was  about  forty  feet  in  diameter  ; 
and  the  height  of  the  dome  about  eighteen  feet  :  On  the 
outside  it  was  covered  with  earth  in  a  dry  state  to  the  depth 
of  four  or  five  inches,  and  made  firm  and  compact.  Every 
house  was  covered  in  the  same  manner.     Between  each  house 


228      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

was  a  vacant  space  of  fifteen  to  thirty  feet.  They  appeared 
to  have  no  order,  otherwise  than  each  house  occupying  a 
diameter  of  thirty  to  forty  feet ;  and  a  free  space  around  it 
of  an  average  of  twenty  feet.  On  looking  down  on  them,  from 
the  upper  bank  of  the  River,  they  appeared  Hke  so  many 
large  hives  clustered  together  :  From  what  I  saw,  and  the 
best  information  I  could  get,  the  average  population  of  each 
house  was  about  ten  souls.  The  houses  of  the  Mandanes  had 
not  many  children,  but  it  was  otherwise  with  the  Fall  Indians  : 
the  former  may  be  taken  at  eight  soul,  and  the  latter,  at  ten, 
to  each  House.  This  will  give  to  the  Mandanes  for  190 
houses,  a  population  of  1520  souls ;  of  which  they  may 
muster  about  220  warriors.  The  Fall  Indians  of  128  houses, 
and  seven  tents  have  a  population  of  1330  souls,  of  which 
190  are  warriors ;  the  whole  mihtary  force  of  these  Villages 
may  be  about  400  men  fit  for  war.  I  have  heard  their  force 
estimated  at  1000  men,  but  this  was  for  want  of  calculation. 

The  native  Arms  were  much  the  same  as  those  that  do 
not  know  the  use  of  Iron,  Spears  and  Arrow  headed  with 
flint  ;  which  they  gladly  lay  aside  for  iron  ;  they  appear  to 
have  adopted  the  Spear  as  a  favorite  weapon.  It  is  a  handle 
of  about  eight  feet  in  length,  headed  with  a  flat  iron  bayonet 
of  nine  to  ten  inches  in  length,  sharp  pointed,  from  the  point 
regularly  enlarging  to  four  inches  in  width,  both  sides  sharp 
edged  ;  the  broad  end  has  a  handle  of  iron  of  about  four 
inches  in  length,  which  is  inserted  in  the  handle,  and  bound 
with  small  cords ;  it  is  a  formidable  weapon  in  the  hands  of  a 
resolute  man.  Their  Guns  were  few  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  Men  for  they  have  no  supplies,  but  what  are 
brought  to  them  by  small  parties  of  Men,  trading  on  their 
own  account,  such  as  the  party  with  me  ;  we  had  ten  guns, 
of  which  the  Men  traded  seven  ;  and  parties  of  Men  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the  same  manner.  They  had 
Shields  of  Bull's  hide  a  safe  defence  against  arrows  and  the 
spear,  but  of  no  use  against  balls. 


MANDANES   AND   THEIR  CUSTOMS     229 

They  enquired  how  we  buih  our  houses,  as  they  saw  me 
attentively  examining  the  structure  of  theirs ;  when  in- 
formed ;  and  drawing  a  rough  plan  of  our  Villages,  with 
Streets  parallel  to  each  other,  and  cross  Streets  at  right 
angles,  after  looking  at  it  for  some  time ;  they  shook  their 
heads,  and  said,  In  these  straight  Streets  we  see  no  advantage 
the  inhabitants  have  over  their  enemies.  The  whole  of  their 
bodies  are  exposed,  and  the  houses  can  be  set  on  fire  ;  which 
our  houses  cannot  be,  for  the  earth  cannot  burn  ;  our  houses 
being  round  shelter  us  except  when  we  fire  down  on  them, 
and  we  are  high  above  them  ;  the  enemies  have  never  been 
able  to  hurt  us  when  we  are  in  our  Villages ;  and  it  is  only 
when  we  are  absent  on  large  hunting  parties  that  we  have 
suffered ;  and  which  we  shall  not  do  again.  The  Sieux 
Indians  have  several  times  on  a  dark  stormy  night  set  fire  to 
the  stockade,  but  this  had  no  effect  on  the  houses.  Their 
manner  of  building  and  disposition  of  the  houses,  is  probably 
the  best,  for  they  build  for  security,  not  for  convenience. 
The  floor  of  the  house  is  of  earth,  level  and  compact ;  there 
is  only  one  door  to  each  house,  this  is  a  frame  of  wood, 
covered  with  a  parchment  Bison  skin,  of  six  feet  by  four 
feet ;  so  as  to  admit  a  horse.  To  each  door  was  a  covered 
porch  of  about  six  feet,  made  and  covered  like  the  door. 
On  entering  the  door,  on  the  left  sits  the  master  of  the  house 
and  his  wife  ;  on  a  rude  kind  of  sofa  ;  covered  with  Bison 
Robes ;  and  before  is  the  fire,  in  a  hollow  of  a  foot  in  depth  ; 
and  at  one  side  of  the  fire  is  a  vase  of  their  pottery,  or  two, 
containing  pounded  maize,  which  is  frequently  stirred  with 
a  stick,  and  now  and  then  about  a  small  spoonful  of  fine  ashes 
put  in,  to  act  as  salt ;  and  [this]  makes  good  pottage  ;  when 
they  boil  meat  it  is  with  only  water  ;  and  the  broth  is  drank. 
We  saw  no  dried  meat  of  any  kind  ;  and  their  houses  are  not 
adapted  for  curing  meat  by  smoke  for  although  the  fire  is  on 
one  side  of  the  house,  and  not  under  the  aperture,  yet  there 
is  not  the  least  appearance  of  smoke,  and  the  light  from  the 


230     DAVID    THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

aperture  of  the  dome  gave  sufficient  light  within  the  house. 
Around  the  walls,  frame  bed  places  were  fastened,  the  bottom 
three  feet  from  the  ground  ;  covered  with  parchment  skins 
of  the  Bison,  with  the  hair  on  except  the  front,  which  was 
open ;  for  a  bed,  was  a  Bison  robe,  soft  and  comfortable. 
On  the  right  hand  side  of  the  door,  were  separate  Stalls  for 
Horses ;  every  morning  the  young  men  take  the  Horses  to 
grass  and  watch  over  them  to  the  evening,  when  they  are 
brought  in,  and  get  a  portion  of  maize  :  which  keeps  them  in 
good  condition  ;  but  in  proportion  to  the  population  the 
Horses  are  few  :  the  Chief  with  whom  I  lodged  had  only 
three. 

They  do  not  require  so  many  Horses  as  the  Indians  of 
the  Plains  who  frequently  move  from  place  to  place,  yet  even 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  hunting  their  Horses  are  too  few. 
We  paid  a  visit  to  Manoah,  a  french  Canadian,  who  had 
resided  many  years  with  these  people  ;  he  was  a  handsome 
man,  with  a  native  woman,  fair  and  graceful,  for  his  wife, 
they  had  no  children  ;  he  was  in  every  respect  as  a  Native. 
He  was  an  intelligent  man,  but  completely  a  Frenchman, 
brave,  gay  and  boastfull ;  with  his  gun  in  one  hand,  and  his 
spear  in  the  other,  he  stood  erect,  and  recounted  to  the 
Indians  about  us  all  his  warlike  actions,  and  the  battles  in 
which  he  had  borne  a  part,  to  all  of  which,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
they  assented.  From  my  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character, 
it  appeared  to  me  he  could  not  live  long,  for  they  utterly 
dislike  a  boastful  man.  I  learned  that  a  few  years  after, 
coming  from  a  Skirmish,  he  praised  his  own  courage  and 
conduct  and  spoke  with  some  contempt  of  the  courage  of 
those  with  him,  which  they  did  not  in  the  least  deserve,  and 
for  which  he  was  shot.  As  Manoah  was  as  a  Native  with 
them  I  enquired  if  they  had  any  traditions  of  ancient  times  ; 
he  said,  he  knew  of  none  beyond  the  days  of  their  great, 
great  Grandfathers,  who  formerly  possessed  aU  the  Streams 
of  the  Red  River,  and  head  of  the  Mississippe,  where  the 


MANDANES   AND   THEIR  CUSTOMS     231 

Wild  Rice,  and  the  Deer  were  plenty,  but  then  the  Bison 
and  the  Horse  were  not  known  to  them  :  On  all  these  streams 
they  had  Villages  and  cultivated  the  ground  as  now  ;  they 
lived  many  years  this  way  how  many  they  do  not  know,  at 
length  the  Indians  of  the  Woods  armed  with  guns  which 
killed  and  frightened  them,  and  iron  weapons,  frequently 
attacked  them,  and  against  these  they  had  no  defence  ;  but 
were  obliged  to  quit  their  Villages,  and  remove  from  place 
to  place,  until  they  came  to  the  Missisourie  River,  where  our 
fathers  made  Villages,  and  the  Indians  of  the  Woods  no  longer 
attacked  us ;  but  the  lands  here  are  not  so  good,  as  the  land 
our  fathers  left,  we  have  no  wild  rice,  except  in  a  few  Ponds, 
not  worth  attention.  Beyond  this  tradition,  such  as  it  is  I 
could  learn  nothing.  They  at  present,  as  perhaps  they  have 
always  done,  subsist  mostly  on  the  produce  of  their  agri- 
culture ;  and  hunt  the  Bison  and  Deer,*  when  these  animals 
are  near  them.  They  have  no  other  flesh  meat ;  and  the 
skins  of  these  animals  serves  for  clothing.  The  grounds  they 
cultivate  are  the  alluvials  of  the  River,  called  Bottoms.  The 
portion  to  each  family  is  allotted  by  a  council  of  old  Men, 
and  is  always  more  than  they  can  cultivate,  for  which  they 
have  but  few  implements.  The  Hoe  and  the  pointed  Stick 
hardened  in  the  fire  are  the  principal. 

They  have  but  few  Hoes  of  iron ;  and  the  Hoe  in  general 
use  is  made  of  the  shoulder  blade  bone  of  the  Bison  or  Deer, 
the  latter  are  preferred  ;  they  are  neatly  fitted  to  a  handle, 
and  do  tolerable  well  in  soft  ground. 

The  produce  they  raise,  is  mostly  Maize  (Indian  Corn)  of 
the  small  red  kind,  with  other  varieties  all  of  which  come  to 
perfection,  with  Pumpkins  and  a  variety  of  small  Beans. 
Melons  have  been  raised  to  their  full  size  and  flavor.  Every 
article  seen  in  their  villages  were  in  clean  good  order,  but  the 
want  of  iron  implements  Hmits  their  industry ;  yet  they 
raise,  not  only  enough  for  themselves,  but  also  for  trade  with 
^  Odocoileus  hemionus  (Rafinesque).     [E.  A.  P.] 


232      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

their  neighbours.  We  brought  away  upwards  of  300  pounds 
weight.  In  sowing  their  seed,  they  have  to  guard  against 
the  flocks  of  Rooks/  which  would  pick  up  every  grain,  and 
until  the  grain  sprouts,  out,  parties  of  Boys  and  girls  during 
the  day  are  employed  to  drive  them  away.  During  the  day 
they  appear  to  have  no  regular  meals ;  but  after  day  set  the 
evening  meal  is  served  with  meat ;  at  this  meal,  several  are 
invited  by  a  tally  of  wood,  which  they  return,  each  brings 
his  bowl  and  rude  spoon  and  knife  ;  the  meat  is  boiled ; 
roasting  of  it  would  give  a  disagreeable  smell ;  which  they 
are  carefuU  to  prevent,  allowing  nothing  to  be  thrown  into 
the  fire,  and  keeping  the  fireplace  very  clean.  The  parties 
invited  were  generally  from  seven  to  ten  men  ;  women  are 
never  of  the  party,  except  the  Wife  of  the  master  of  the  house, 
who  sometimes  joined  in  their  grave,  yet  cheerful  conversa- 
tion.    Loud  laughter  is  seldom  heard. 

Both  sexes  have  the  character  of  being  courteous  and  kind 
in  their  intercourse  with  each  other ;  in  our  rambles  through 
the  villages  everything  was  orderly,  no  scolding,  nor  loud 
talking  :  They  look  upon  stealing  as  the  meanest  of  vices, 
and  think  a  Robber  a  far  better  man  than  a  Thief.  They  have 
no  laws  for  the  punishment  of  crime,  everything  is  left  to 
the  injured  party,  the  law  of  retaliation  being  in  full  force. 
It  is  this  law  which  makes  Murder  so  much  dreaded  by  them, 
for  vengeance  is  as  likely  to  fall  on  the  near  relations  of  the 
murderer,  as  on  himself,  and  the  family  of  the  Relation  who 
may  have  thus  suffered,  have  now  their  vengeance  to  take ; 
Thus  an  endless  feud  arises ;  to  prevent  such  blood  shed, 
the  murderer,  if  his  Hfe  cannot  be  taken,  for  he  frequently 
absconds  ;  the  old  men  attempt  to  compound  for  the  crime 
by  presents  to  the  injured  party,  which  are  always  refused, 
except  they  know  themselves  to  be  too  weak  to  obtain  any 
other  redress.  If  the  presents  are  accepted  the  price  of  blood 
is  paid,  and  the  injured  party  has  no  longer  any  right  to  take 
^  Probably  the  Crow,  Corvus  brachyrhynchos  Brehm.     [E.  A.  P.] 


MANDANES   AND   THEIR   CUSTOMS     233 

the  life  of  the  criminal.  This  law  of  Retaliation,  and  com- 
pounding by  presents  for  the  life  of  the  murderer,  when 
accepted,  appears  to  be  the  invariable  laws  with  all  the 
Natives  of  North  America. 

The  dress  of  the  Men  is  of  leather,  soft  and  white.  The 
covering  for  the  body  is  like  a  large  shirt  with  sleeves,  some 
wear  the  Bison  leather  with  the  hair  on,  for  winter  dress ; 
with  a  leather  belt ;  the  leggins  of  soft  white  leather,  so  long 
as  to  pass  over  the  belt ;  their  shoes  are  made  of  Bison,  with  the 
hair  on  ;  and  always  a  Bison  Robe.  The  Women's  dress  is 
a  shirt  of  Antelope  or  Deer  leather,  which  ties  over  each 
shoulder,  and  comes  down  to  the  feet,  with  a  belt  round  the 
waist  short  leggins  to  the  knee,  and  Bison  Robe  shoes,  the 
sleeves  separate,  in  which  they  looked  well.  Both  Men  and 
Women  are  of  a  stature  fully  equal  to  Europeans ;  and  as 
fair  as  our  french  Canadians  ;  their  eyes  of  a  dark  hazel,  the 
hair  of  dark  brown,  or  black,  but  not  coarse  :  prominent  nose, 
cheek  bones  moderate,  teeth  mouth  and  chin  good ;  well 
Hmbed  ;  the  features  good,  the  countenance  mild  and  in- 
telHgent ;  they  are  a  handsome  people.  Their  amusements 
are  gambling  after  the  manner  of  the  Indians  of  the  Plains. 
They  have  also  their  Musicians  and  dancing  Women  ;  In 
the  house  of  the  Chief,  in  which  I  staid,  every  evening,  about 
two  or  three  hours  after  sunset,  about  forty  or  fifty  men 
assembled.  They  all  stood ;  five  or  six  of  them  were 
Musicians,  with  a  drum,  tambour,  rattle,  and  rude  flutes  ; 
The  dancing  women  were  twenty  four  young  women  of  the 
age  of  sixteen  to  twenty-five  years.  They  all  came  in  their 
common  dress  ;  and  went  into  a  place  set  apart  for  them  to 
dress ;  and  changed  to  a  fine  white  dress  of  thin  Deer  skins, 
with  ornamented  belts,  which  showed  their  shapes  almost  as 
clearly  as  a  silk  dress. 

They  formed  two  rows  of  twelve  each,  and  were  about 
three  feet  apart ;  The  musicians  were  in  front  of  the  Men, 
and  about  fourteen  feet  from  the  front  row  of  the  Women. 


234      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

When  the  music  struck  up,  part  of  the  Men  sung,  and  the 
Women  keeping  a  straight  Hne  and  respective  distance,  danced 
with  a  light  step  and  slow,  graceful  motion  towards  the 
Musicians,  until  near  to  them  when  the  music  and  singing 
ceased  ;  the  Women  retired  in  regular  line,  keeping  their 
faces  towards  the  Musicians.  A  pause  of  three  or  four  minutes 
ensued,  the  music  struck  up,  and  the  dance  renewed  in  the 
same  manner  ;  and  thus  in  succession  for  the  time  of  about 
an  hour.  Each  dance  lasted  about  ten  minutes.  There  was 
no  talking,  the  utmost  decorum  was  kept ;  the  Men  all 
silently  went  away ;  the  dancing  Women  retired  to  change 
their  dress.  They  were  all  courtesans  ;  a  sett  of  handsome 
tempting  women.  The  Mandanes  have  many  ceremonies,  in 
all  of  which  the  women  bear  a  part  but  my  interpreter  treated 
them  with  contempt ;   which  perhaps  they  merited. 

The  curse  of  the  Mandanes  is  an  almost  total  want  of 
chastity  :  this,  the  men  with  me  knew,  and  I  found  it  was 
almost  their  sole  motive  for  their  journey  hereto  :  The  goods 
they  brought,  they  sold  at  50  to  60  p""  cent  above  what  they 
cost ;  and  reserving  enough  to  pay  their  debts,  and  buy 
some  corn ;  [they]  spent  the  rest  on  Women.  Therefore  we 
could  not  preach  chastity  to  them,  and  by  experience  they 
informed  me  that  siphylis  was  common  and  mild.  These 
people  annually,  at  least  once  in  every  summer,  have  the 
following  detestable  ceremony,  which  lasts  three  days.  The 
first  day  both  sexes  go  about  within  and  without  the  Village, 
but  mostly  on  the  outside,  as  if  in  great  distress,  seeking  for 
persons  they  cannot  find,  for  a  few  hours,  then  sit  down  and 
cry  as  if  for  sorrow,  then  retire  to  their  houses.  The  next 
day  the  same  is  repeated,  with  apparent  greater  distress 
accompanied  with  low  singing.  The  third  day  begins  with 
both  sexes  crying  (no  tears)  and  eagerly  searching  for  those 
they  wish  to  find,  but  cannot ;  at  length  tired  with  this 
folly  ;  the  sexes  separate,  and  the  Men  sit  down  on  the  ground 
in  one  line,  with  their  elbows  resting  on  their  knees,  and  their 


MANDANES   AND   THEIR   CUSTOMS     235 

heads  resting  on  their  hands  as  in  sorrow ;  The  Women 
standing  and  crying  heartily,  with  dry  eyes,  form  a  line 
opposite  the  Men  ;  in  a  few  minutes,  several  Women  advance 
to  the  Men,  each  of  them  takes  the  Man  she  chooses  by  the 
hand,  he  rises  and  goes  with  her  to  where  she  pleases,  and 
they  He  down  together.  And  thus  until  none  remain,  which 
finishes  this  abominable  ceremony.  No  woman  can  choose  her 
own  husband  ;  but  the  women  who  love  their  husbands  lead 
away  aged  Men.  Mess"^  Jussomme  and  M'^Crachan  said  they 
had  often  partaken  of  the  latter  part  of  the  third  day ;  and 
other  men  said  the  same.  Manoah  strongly  denied  that 
either  himself,  or  his  wife  had  ever  taken  part  in  these  rights 
of  the  devil. 

The  white  men  who  have  hitherto  visited  these  Villages, 
have  not  been  examples  of  chastity ;  and  of  course  reHgion 
is  out  of  the  question  ;  and  as  to  the  white  Men  who  have 
no  education,  and  who  therefore  cannot  read,  the  little 
religion  they  ever  had  is  soon  forgotten  when  there  is  no 
Church  to  remind  them  of  it. 

Fall  Indians  who  also  have  Villages,  are  strictly  confederate 
with  the  Mandanes,  they  speak  a  distinct  language  ;  and  it  is 
thought  no  other  tribe  of  Natives  speak  it  :  very  few  of  the 
Mandanes  learn  it ;  the  former  learn  the  language  of  the 
latter,  which  is  a  dialect  of  the  Pawnee  language.  The  Fall 
Indians  are  now  removed  far  from  their  original  country, 
which  was  the  Rapids  of  the  Saskatchewan  river,  northward 
of  the  Eagle  Hill ;  A  feud  arose  between  them,  and  their 
then  neighbours,  the  Nahathaways  and  the  Stone  Indians 
confederates,  and  [they  were]  too  powerful  for  them,  they 
then  lived  wholly  in  tents,  and  removed  across  the  Plains  to 
the  Missisourie ;  became  confederate  with  the  Mandanes, 
and  from  them  have  learned  to  build  houses,  form  villages 
and  cultivate  the  ground  ;  The  architecture  of  their  houses 
is  in  every  respect  the  same  as  that  of  the  Mandanes,  and  their 
cultivation  is  the  same  :    Some  of  them  continue  to  live  in 


236      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

tents  and  are  in  friendship  with  the  Chyenne  Indians,  whose 
village  was  lately  destroyed,  and  now  live  in  tents  to  the 
westward  of  them.  Another  band  of  these  people  now  dwell 
in  tents  near  the  head  of  this  River  in  alliance  with  the 
Peeagans  and  their  allies ;  The  whole  tribe  of  these  people 
may  be  estimated  at  2200  to  2500  souls.  They  are  not  as 
fair  as  the  Mandanes  ;  but  somewhat  taller.  Their  features, 
like  those  of  the  plains  have  a  cast  of  sterness,  yet  they  are 
cheerful,  very  hospitable  and  friendly  to  each  other,  and  to 
strangers.  What  has  been  said  of  the  Mandanes  may  be  said 
of  them  ;  except  in  regard  to  Women.  The  Fall  Indians 
exact  the  strictest  chastity  of  their  wives  ;  adultry  is  punish- 
able with  death  to  both  parties ;  though  the  Woman  escapes 
this  penalty  more  often  than  the  man  :  who  can  only  save 
his  life  by  absconding  which,  if  the  woman  does  not  do,  she 
suffers  a  severe  beating,  and  becomes  the  drudge  of  the  family. 
But  those  living  in  the  Villages  I  was  given  to  understand  have 
relaxed  this  law  to  the  man  in  favor  of  a  present  of  a  Horse, 
and  whatever  else  can  be  got  from  him.  As  they  do  not 
suffer  the  hardships  of  the  Indians  of  the  Plains,  the  Men  are 
nearly  equal  to  the  Women  in  number,  and  few  have  more 
than  two  wives,  more  frequently  only  one.  It  always 
appeared  to  me  that  the  Indians  of  the  Plains  did  not  regard 
the  chastity  of  their  wives  as  a  moral  law,  but  as  an  unalien- 
able right  of  property  to  be  their  wives  and  the  mothers  of 
their  own  children  ;  and  not  to  be  interfered  with  by  another 
Man.  The  morality  of  the  Indians,  may  be  said  to  be  founded 
on  it's  necessity  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  each  other,  and 
although  they  profess  to  believe  in  a  Spirit  of  great  power, 
and  that  the  wicked  are  badly  treated  after  death ;  yet  this 
seems  to  have  no  effect  on  their  passions  and  desires.  The 
crimes  they  hold  to  be  avoided  are,  theft,  treachery  arid 
murder. 

Christianity  alone  by  it's  holy  doctrines  and  precepts,  by 
it's  promises  of  a  happy  immortahty,  and  dreadful  punish- 


MANDANES   AND   THEIR   CUSTOMS     237 

ments  to  the  wicked,  can  give  force  to  morality.  It  alone  can 
restrain  the  passions  and  desires  and  guide  them  to  fulfil  the 
intentions  of  a  wise,  and  benevolent  Providence.  As  the 
Missisourie  River  with  all  it's  Villages  and  population  are 
within  the  United  States,  it  is  to  be  hoped  Missionaries  will 
soon  find  their  way  to  these  Villages,  and  give  them  a  know- 
ledge of  Christianity,  which  they  will  gladly  accept. 


CHAPTER    XV 

RETURN   JOURNEY   TO   M^DONELL'S 
HOUSE   ON   MOUSE   RIVER 

Missisourie  River — Start  on  return  journey — Return  journey — 
Reach  Trading  House  in  safety — Encounter  of  Trading 
Party  with  the  Sieux — Hugh  M'Crachan — Death  of  Hugh 
M'^Crachan — Route  from  Stone  Indian  River  House  to 
Villages  of  the  Mandanes. 

HAVING  made  the  necessary  astronomical  observa- 
tions we  prepared  to  depart  ;  the  latitude  of  the 
Upper  Village  (Fall  Indians)  was  found  to  be 
47  .  25  .  II  North.  Longitude  loi  .21  .5  West  of  Greenwich. 
The  lower  Village  (Mandanes)  Latitude  47  .  17 .  22  North. 
Long*^'  loi  .  14.  24  W.  Variation  of  the  Compass  ten  degrees 
east.  In  the  language  of  the  natives,  Missisourie  means, 
"  the  great  troubled,  or  muddy,  River,"  from  the  great 
quantity  of  sediment  it  contains.  Everywhere  this  river  has 
bold  banks,  often  steep,  and  mostly  of  earth.  Above  the 
banks  the  soil  appears  hard  and  dry  the  bottoms  rich  and  well 
wooded.  From  the  Mountains  to  it's  confluence  with  the 
Mississippe,  following  it's  course  is  3560  miles.  The  whole 
distance  is  a  continuous  River,  without  meeting,  or  forming, 
a  single  Lake  ;  with  very  strong  current.  This  River  drains 
a  area  of  442,239  square  miles. 

We  now  set  off,  our  caravan  consisted  of  thirty  one  Dogs, 

loaded  with  furrs  of  Wolves  and  Foxes,  with  meal  and  corn  ; 

238 


JOURNEY  TO   M^DONELL'S    HOUSE      289 

and  two  Sieux  Indian  women  which  the  Mandanes  had  taken 
prisoners,  and  sold  to  the  men,  who,  when  arrived  at  the 
Trading  House  would  sell  them  to  some  other  Canadians. 
My  Horse  I  left  with  my  Host,  and  bought  two  stout  Dogs 
to  haul  our  luggage  and  provisions.  Our  march,  as  usual, 
commenced  with  flogging  the  Dogs,  and  swearing  at  them 
in  the  intervals ;  my  old  soldier,  who  on  going  out,  had  only 
Horses  to  take  [care]  of,  and  used  to  reprove  them,  now  he 
had  Dogs  could  swear  and  flog  as  well  as  any  of  them.  A 
council  had  been  held  ;  as  the  Articles  brought  to  them  was 
by  no  means  sufficient  to  supply  their  wants,  to  send  a  small 
party  to  the  Trading  House,  get  a  knowledge  of  the  Road, 
make  sure  friends  of  the  Stone  Indians  and  see  the  stock  of 
Goods  in  the  Trading  Houses ;  Accordingly  a  Chief  in  the 
prime  of  life,  called  the  White  Man,  with  four  young  men 
were  selected,  and  came  with  us,  and  also  an  old  man  and  his 
old  wife,  each  of  the  latter  carrying  a  bag  of  meal  for  their 
provisions.  They  said  they  were  anxious  to  see  the  Houses  of 
the  White  Men  before  they  died  ;  and  when  told  they  were 
both  too  weak  to  perform  the  journey,  they  said  their  hearts 
were  strong,  but  by  the  time  they  had  ascended  the  heights 
of  the  river  they  were  convinced  they  were  too  weak  and 
returned.  Mons"  Jussomme  and  myself  spoke  to  the  Chief 
of  the  extreme  hazard  of  such  a  small  party  escaping  their 
enemies ;  and  that  if  they  wished  to  have  a  direct  trade 
with  us,  they  must  form  a  party  of  at  least  forty  men  with 
.Horses,  and  come  when  the  Snow  was  not  on  the  ground  ; 
that  even  among  the  Stone  Indians,  who  are  friendly,  there 
were  bad  men  enough,  on  seeing  such  a  small  party,  that 
would  plunder  them  ;  and  they  had  all  better  return.  He 
said,  we  do  not  know  the  country ;  we  are  too  few,  and  I 
will  return,  the  young  men  belong  to  another  Village,  and 
they  will  do  as  they  please.  After  fourteen  days  on  our 
return  and  suffering  excessive  bad  weather,  two  of  the 
Mandane  young   men   returned ;    the   other  two  continued 


240      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

with  us.  On  the  first  day  of  February  we  came  to  eight 
Tents  of  Stone  Indians,  in  the  same  place  as  [when]  we  went ; 
they  treated  the  two  Mandanes  with  great  kindness.  We 
told  them  we  had  returned  by  the  usual  route,  as  the  Man- 
danes assured  us  there  was  no  danger  ;  they  said  we  had  not 
acted  wisely,  for  the  good  weather  will  bring  the  Sieux  to 
the  Dog  Tent  Hills,  you  have  narrowly  escaped,  for  we  are 
sure  they  are  now  there.  We  killed  very  few  Bisons  and 
lived  as  much  on  Corn  as  on  Meat. 

We  continued  our  Journey  and  on  the  third  day  of 
February  (1798)  we  arrived  at  the  Trading  House  of  the 
North  West  Company  from  whence  we  set  out,  thankfull  to 
the  Almighty  for  our  merciful  preservation.  We  have  been 
absent  sixty  eight  days.  The  next  day  M^  Hugh  M^Crachan 
and  four  men  with  an  assortment  of  goods  for  trade  set  off 
for  the  Mandane  Villages,  and  the  two  Mandane  young  men, 
to  whom  M*"  M^Donell  made  several  presents,  which  highly 
pleased  them. 

I  strongly  advised  them  all  not  to  follow  the  usual  route, 
carefully  to  avoid  the  Dog  Tent  Hill,  and  follow  the  route 
by  which  we  went  to  the  Missisourie,  and  which  the  Stone 
Indians  also  strongly  advised  ;  This  they  all  promised  to  do, 
and  set  off.  The  weather  being  fine,  Canadian  like,  who 
believe  there  is  no  danger  until  they  are  involved  in  it ;  they 
took  the  usual  route,  and  at  the  campment  of  the  Dog  Tent 
Hills  found  the  Sieux  lying  in  wait  for  them  ;  they  fell  on 
them  and  killed  two  of  the  Canadians  and  one  of  the  Man- 
danes, and  the  others  would  have  shared  the  same  fate,  had 
they  not  begun  quarrelling  about  the  plunder  of  the  goods. 
The  Mandane  got  safe  to  his  Village,  and  Hugh  M'^Crachan 
and  the  two  men  returned  to  the  House,  in  a  sad  worn  out 
condition,  the  humanity  of  some  Stone  Indians  saved  their 
lives,  or  they  must  have  perished  with  hunger.  In  the 
following  summer  as  M""  Hugh  M'^Crachan  was  on  his  usual 
trading   journeys   to   the   Mandanes,   he   was   killed   by   the 


JOURNEY   TO    M^DONELL'S   HOUSE      241 

Sieux  Indians.^  Our  road  from  the  Village  of  the  Mandanes 
to  the  Stone  Indian  River  House,  following  from  Woods  to 
Woods  for  fuel  and  shelter  are  to  the  Dog  Tent  Hill  [which] 
is  N  28  E  50  miles ;  thence  to  the  Elbow  of  the  Mouse  River 
N  49  E  20  miles ;  thence  to  Turtle  Hill  south  end  N  28  E  56 
miles,  thence  along  the  Hill  N  9  W  14  miles  ;  thence  to  the 
Ash  House  on  the  Mouse  River  N  3  W  24  miles ;  thence  to 
the  House  of  M'  M'=Donell  N  69  E  45  miles.  But  a  straight 
line  between  the  two  extreme  points  is  N  26  E  188  miles. 

The  whole  of  this  country  may  be  pastoral,  but  except  in 
a  few  places,  cannot  become  agricultural.  Even  the  fine 
Turtle  Hill,  gently  rising,  for  several  miles,  with  it's  Springs 
and  Brooks  of  fine  Water  has  very  little  wood  fit  for  the 
Farmer.  The  principal  is  Aspin  which  soon  decays  :  with 
small  Oaks  and  Ash.  The  grass  of  these  plains  is  so  often  on 
fire,  by  accident  or  design,  and  the  bark  of  the  Trees  so  often 
scorched,  that  their  growth  is  contracted,  or  they  become 
dry  :  and  the  whole  of  the  great  Plains  are  subject  to  these 
fires  during  the  Summer  and  Autumn  before  the  Snow  lies 
on  the  ground.  These  great  Plains  appear  to  be  given  by 
Providence  to  the  Red  Men  for  ever,  as  the  wilds  and  sands 
of  Africa  are  given  to  the  Arabians. 

It  may  be  enquired  what  can  be  the  cause  of  the  violent 
Storms,  like  Hurricanes  which,  in  a  manner  desolate  this 
country,  when  such  Storms  are  not  known  to  the  westward. 
No  assignable  cause  is  known  ;  there  are  no  Hills  to  impede 
it's  course,  or  confine  it's  action.  What  are  called  Hills,  are 
gentle  rising  grounds,  over  which  the  Winds  sweep  in  full 
freedom.  And  the  same  question  may  be  asked  of  certain 
parts  of  the  Ocean. 

My  time  for  full  three  weeks  was  employed  in  calculating 

^  Thompson  was  probably  mistaken  in  making  this  statement,  for 
Hugh  McCraken  appears  to  have  been  alive  when  Lewis  and  Clark  and 
Alexander  Henry  visited  the  Mandan  villages  in  1804  and  1806  re- 
spectively. 

Q 


242     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  astronomical  observations  made  to,  and  from,  the  Missi- 
sourie  River  ;  and  making  a  Map  of  my  survey,  which,  with 
my  journal  was  sealed  up,  and  directed  to  the  Agents  of  the 
North  West  Company,  By  a  series  of  observations  this  Trading 
House  is  in  Latitude  49 .40. 56  North,  and  Longitude  99. 27 .  15 
West.     Variation  11  degrees  E'. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

JOURNEY  DOWN   THE   STONE  INDIAN 
AND   UP  THE   RED   RIVER 

Leave  M^DoneWs  House — Melting  snow — Arrive  at  Red  River 
— Chippezuay  Customs — Ascend  the  Red  River — Prairie 
Fires — Salt  Brooks — Trading  Post  Settlements — Cadotte^s 
House — Baptiste  Cadotte — Chippeway  Camp — Return  to 
Cadotte^s  House. 

ON  the  zG^  day  of  February  (1798)  I  took  leave  of 
my  hospitable  friend  M""  John  M"^Donell,  who 
furnished  me  with  everything  necessary  for  my 
Journey  of  survey.  With  me  were  three  Canadians  and  an 
Indian  to  guide  us,  and  six  dogs  hauling  three  Sleds  loaded 
with  Provisions  and  our  baggage.  Our  Journey  was  down 
the  Stone  Indian  River,  sometimes  on  the  Ice  of  the  Stream, 
but  on  account  of  it's  windings,  mostly  on  the  North  Side  ; 
cutting  off  the  windings  as  much  as  possible  ;  In  the  afternoon 
we  came  to  the  Manito  Hills,  they  are  a  low  long  ridge  of  sand 
knowls,  steep  on  the  west  side,  but  less  so  on  the  east  side ; 
they  have  a  very  little  grass  in  a  few  places,  no  snow  lies  on 
them  all  winter,  which  is  the  reason  the  Natives  call  them 
Manito ;  or  preternatural.  Except  the  Sand  Ridge,  the 
country  we  have  come  over  is  very  fine,  especially  the  junction 
Z_oi  the  Mouse  River  which  is  about  i-J-  mile  below  the  House  : 
the  woods  were  of  Oak,  Ash,  Elm,  Bass  Wood,  Poplar, 
Aspin  and  a  few  Pines  having  small  Plains  and  Meadows 
(short  and  long  grass)  .-^     In  the  evening  we  put  up  :  and  as 

^  Their  camp  this  evening  (February  26)  was  at  Old  Pine  Fort,  or 
Fort  Epinette,  which  Thompson  says  in  his  notes  had  been  forsaken 

243 


244      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

usual  had  to  melt  snow  to  make  water  to  drink  and  cook  our 
supper.  To  melt  Snow  into  well  tasted  water  requires  some 
tact.  The  Kettle  is  filled  with  Snow  packed  hard,  it  is  then 
hung  over  the  fire,  and  as  it  melts  it  is  with  a  small  stick 
bored  full  of  holes  to  the  bottom  to  lessen  the  smoky  taste. 

several  years.  It  was  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  Assiniboine  river, 
in  the  north-east  quarter  of  Sect.  36,  Tp.  8,  R.  14,  west  of  the  Principal 
Meridian,  about  eight  miles  southward  from  Carberry  Junction  on  the 
Canadian  Northern  Railway.  Daniel  Harmon  in  his  Journal  says  that 
Pine  Fort  was  built  in  1785,  and  abandoned  in  1794  ;  and  Alexander 
Henry  the  younger  states  that  it  was  abandoned  when  the  fort  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Souris  was  built.  It  was  an  important  post.  John  McDon- 
nell describes  it  as  the  lowest  house  of  the  North- West  Company  at  that 
time,  and  says  that  the  Mandans  and  Gros  Ventres  came  there  from  the 
Missouri  to  trade.  He  also  states  that  it  was  abandoned  in  1794,  because 
Donald  McKay  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  built  a  post  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Souris  river  the  previous  year,  and  it  was  necessary  to  move 
up  beside  him.  On  Peter  Pond's  map  of  1790  there  is  the  note:  "  Here 
upon  the  Branches  of  the  Missury  live  the  Maundiens,  who  bring  to  our 
Factory  at  Fort  Epinitt  [Pine  Fort],  on  the  Assinipoil  River,  Indian  com 
for  sale.     Our  people  go  to  them  with  loaded  horses  in  twelve  days." 

When  the  site  was  visited  by  the  editor  in  July,  1890,  evidences  of 
the  existence  of  the  fort  could  be  distinctly  traced,  north  of  the  river  on 
a  level  grassy  flat  which  breaks  off  towards  the  stream  in  a  steep-cut  bank 
twenty  feet  high.  To  the  north  the  ground  rises  in  several  poplar- covered 
terraces  to  the  main  bank  of  the  valley,  which  is  a  mile  and  a  half  distant, 
while  to  the  south,  across  the  shallow  river,  is  a  low  bottom  land  a  mile 
wide.  The  position  of  the  old  fort  had  been  largely  washed  away  by  the 
river,  but  the  back  line,  and  part  of  the  two  end  lines  of  the  stockade, 
could  be  clearly  followed  as  a  trench  in  which  were  the  butts  of  spruce 
posts  about  four  inches  in  diameter  which  had  been  driven  into  the  ground. 
The  north  side  of  the  stockade  was  56  paces  long,  while  of  the  east  and 
west  ends  respectively  only  lengths  of  15  and  13  paces  remained,  the  rest, 
with  the  whole  of  the  front,  having  been  washed  away  by  the  river.  At 
the  north-east  corner  there  had  been  a  bastion  8  feet  square,  beneath  which 
was  an  entrance  to  the  enclosure.  Just  within  the  eastern  end  of  the 
enclosure  was  a  pit  3  feet  in  diameter  and  26  inches  deep,  filled  with 
charred  bones  and  wood.  The  main  feature  of  the  enclosure  was  a  large 
mound  11  paces  in  diameter  and  2  feet  high,  with  a  pit  in  the  middle 
6  paces  in  diameter  and  2  feet  deep.  This  doubtless  marked  the  position 
of  a  house,  some  of  the  timbers  of  which  were  still  projecting  from  the 
bank.  At  two  of  the  corners  piles  of  stones  showed  where  chimneys  had 
stood.  Eight  paces  west  of  the  enclosure,  and  just  on  the  edge  of  the  bank, 
was  a  large  shallow  pit. 


JOURNEY  DOWN   THE   STONE   INDIAN     245 

When  it  becomes  water  the  taste  is  disagreeable  with  smoke, 
but  in  this  state  it  readily  quenches  thirst,  and  for  such  is 
often  drank  ;  to  clear  it  of  smoke  the  water  is  made  to  boil 
for  a  few  minutes  which  clears  it  of  the  smoke.  Snow  is 
then  put  in,  until  it  is  cold,  and  the  water  is  well  tasted  and 
fit  for  use.  We  continued  our  journey  day  after  day,^  the 
Snow  increasing  every  day  in  depth ;  and  to  beat  the  path 
for  the  Dogs  and  Sleds  became  very  tiresome  work ;  the 
Snow  Shoes  sunk  six  inches  every  step  of  the  foremost  man, 
our  Guide  every  day  became  so  fatigued  I  had  to  relieve  him 
for  two  or  three  hours. 

On  the  seventh  of  March  we  arrived  at  it's  junction  with 
the  Red  River  in  Latitude  49  .  53  .  i  N.  Longitude  97  .  o  .  o 
West  Variation  9  degrees  East.^  The  straight  course  is 
N  82  E  112  statute  miles ;  to  perform  which  we  walked 
169  miles.  But  the  windings  of  the  River  is  treble  the  former 
distance,  and  more.  An  Indian  compared  the  devious  course 
of  the  River  to  a  Spy,  who  went  here  and  there,  and  every- 
where, to  see  what  was  going  on  in  the  country.     The  whole 

1  On  March  2,  Thompson  passed  Old  Poplar  Fort,  which  was  one  of 
the  oldest  trading  posts  established  by  the  English  traders  from  Canada 
on  the  Assiniboine  river.  Thompson's  notes  place  it  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  river  about  the  middle  of  a  straight  reach  three  miles  long,  and  five 
miles  above  the  Meadow  Portage.  It  was  probably  in  Sect.  6,  Tp.  11, 
R.  7,  west  of  the  Principal  Meridian.  Alexander  Henry  the  younger  says 
that  it  was  abandoned  in  the  autumn  of  1781,  after  it  had  been  attacked 
by  Indians,  and  three  of  its  defenders  had  been  killed. 

Five  miles  below  the  site  of  Poplar  House  was  the  south  end  of  the 
Meadow  Portage  to  Lake  Manitoba,  just  below  a  willow-covered  island 
in  the  river.  This  place,  on  which  the  city  of  Portage  la  Prairie  is  now 
built,  is  one  of  the  famous  places  in  the  history  of  the  western  fur  trade. 
It  was  here  that  La  Verendrye,  having  ascended  the  river  until  the  water 
became  too  shallow  to  allow  him  to  go  farther,  built,  in  the  autumn  of 
1738,  Fort  La  Reine,  which  continued  to  be  one  of  the  chief  trading  posts 
of  the  French  in  the  west  until  the  cession  of  Canada  to  Great  Britain. 
After  that  the  place  was  occupied  from  time  to  time  by  traders  of  the 
North-West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies,  until  it  was  finally  abandoned 
by  the  latter  company  in  1870. 

"^  The  correct  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  mouth  of  the  Assiniboine 
river  are  49°  53'  N.  and  93°  9'  W. 


246      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  this  country  appeared  fit  for  cultivation,  and  for  raising 
cattle.  The  climate  is  as  mild  as  Montreal  in  Canada,  which 
[is]  4-i-  degrees  south  of  this  River :  The  Woods  as  we 
descended  the  River  were  less  in  size  and  height ;  especially 
the  Oak.  We  saw  but  a  few  animals,  a  few  Red  Deer,  and  a 
chance  small  herd  of  Bisons,  for  those  animals  avoid  deep 
snow. 

Hitherto  we  have  been  on  the  hunting  grounds  of  the 
Nahathaway  Indians  ;  who  possess  this  River,  and  all  to  the 
eastward,  and  to  the  northward  as  far  as  the  latitude  of 
56  degrees  north.  The  Red  River,  and  all  the  country- 
southward  and  the  upper  Mississippe,  and  countries  eastward 
to,  and  all,  Canada,  are  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Chippa- 
ways  (or  Oojibaways).  Part  is  aheady  occupied  by  civiHzed 
men,  and  the  greatest  part  of  their  territories  will  in  time  be 
in  the  hands  of  those  that  cultivate  the  soil.  They  are  a 
large,  scattered  tribe  of  the  primitive  Nahathaways,  and 
speak  a  close  dialect  of  their  language,  which  they  have 
softened  as  they  live,  comparatively,  in  a  mild  climate  ;  their 
countr}'-  is  different  in  soil  and  it's  productions  which  renders 
them  less  dependent  on  hunting  :  The  dark  extensive  forests 
of  the  north,  give  food,  shelter,  and  comparative  security  to 
the  Moose,  the  Rein  Deer,  and  other  wild  animals,  and 
exercise  the  sagacity  and  industry  of  the  Hunter.  Of  all 
the  Natives,  these  people  are  the  most  superstitious,  they  may 
be  accounted  the  religionists  of  the  North.  As  they  have  no 
Horses,  and  only  Dogs  for  winter  use  and  not  many  of  these 
to  haul  their  things  in  winter,  they  have  very  few  tents  of 
leather.  They  are  mostly  of  rush  mats  neatly  made,  some- 
times of  Birch  Rind,  or  Pine  Branches,  always  low,  and 
seldom  comfortable.  As  soon  as  mild  weather  comes  on, 
they  live  in  Lodges,  which  are  long,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  families.  Strong  poles  are  placed  on  triangles  for 
the  length  required,  about  six  or  seven  feet  high,  the  front 
looks  to  the  south,  and  is  open,  the  back  part  is  formed  of 


JOURNEY  DOWN  THE  STONE  INDIAN     247 

poles  about  three  feet  apart,  in  a  sloping  position,  resting  on 
the  ground,  and  on  the  ridge  pole,  covered  with  Birch  Rind, 
sometimes  rush  mats,  and  pine  branches.  In  summer  they 
all  use  Canoes  and  in  winter  the  flat  Sled ;  in  this  season  the 
women  haul,  or  carry  heavy  loads,  and  the  men  also  take 
their  Share.  They  are  well  made  for  hunting  and  fatigue, 
they  are  more  fleshy  than  their  neighbours,  and  their  skin 
darker.  These  are  the  people  of  whom  writers  tell  so  many 
anecdotes,  as  they  are  better  known  to  the  Whites  than  any 
other  tribe ;  they  are  naturally  brave,  but  too  much  given 
to  revenge  :  and  although  they  exact  fideHty  from  their 
wives,  rarely  punish  with  death ;  the  woman  is  sometimes 
punished  by  the  husband  biting  off  the  fleshy  part  of  the 
nose ;  the  Women  declare  it  to  be  worse  than  death,  as  it  is 
the  loss  of  their  beauty,  and  for  the  rest  of  life  a  visible  mark 
of  crime  and  punishment.  But  this  barbarous  act,  is  very 
rarely  inflicted  but  when  the  man  is  drunk. 

On  the  f^  day  of  March  we  began  the  survey  of  the  Red 
River,  and  continued  to  the  14'''  of  March,  when  we  arrived 
at  the  Trading  House  of  the  North  West  Company,  under 
the  charge  of  Mons""  Charles  Chaboiller,^  who  gave  us  a  kind 
reception.  Our  journey  for  the  last  eight  days,  has  been 
most  wretched  traveling  :  the  Snow  was  full  three  feet  deep ; 
the  ice  of  the  River  had  much  water  on  it,  from  the  mild 
weather  with  small  showers  of  rain,  or  wet  snow. 

On  the  River,  the  mixture  of  snow  and  water  which 
stuck  to  the  Sleds,  made  it  impossible  for  the  Dogs  to  haul 
them,  and  it  often  required  two  of  us  to  extricate  Sleds  with 
the  assistance  of  the  Dogs,  and  every  thing  had  to  be  dried 
in  bad  weather.  To  beat  the  Road  was  a  most  laborious 
work,  the  ankles  and  knees  were  sprained  with  the  weight  of 
wet  snow  on  each  Snow  Shoe,  for  the  Snow  was  not  on  firm 
ground,   but    supported   by   long   grass.     I   had   to   take   his 

1  For    an    account    of    Chaboillez,    see    Elliott    Coues,    New    Light, 
p.  60. 


248      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

place,  and  tying  a  string  to  the  fore  bar  of  each  snow  shoe, 
and  the  other  end  in  my  hand,  with  my  gun  slung  on  my 
back,  and  thus  lifting  my  snow  shoes,  marched  on ;  We 
journeyed  on  the  west  side  of  the  River ;  the  whole  distance 
was  meadow  land,  and  no  other  Woods  than  sapHngs  of  Oak, 
Ash  and  Alder.  From  the  many  charred  stumps  of  Pines  it 
was  evident  this  side  of  the  River  was  once  a  Pine  Forest.  In 
the  more  northern  parts,  where  Pine  Woods  have  been 
destroyed  by  fire,  Aspins,  Poplars  and  Alders  have  sprung  up, 
and  taken  the  place  of  the  Pines  ;  but  along  this,  the  Red 
River,  from  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  and  goodness  of  the 
soil.  Oak,  Ash,  Alder,  and  Nut  Woods  have  succeeded  the  Pines. 

This  change  appears  to  depend  on  soil  and  climate ;  for 
in  the  high  northern  latitudes,  where  in  many  places  there  is 
no  soil,  and  the  Pines  spread  their  roots  over  the  rocks,  Pine 
grounds,  when  burned,  are  succeeded  by  Pines ;  for  Aspins 
Poplars  and  Alders  require  some  soil.  Along  the  Great 
Plains,  there  are  very  many  places  where  large  groves  of 
Aspins  have  been  burnt,  the  charred  stumps  remaining ;  and 
no  further  production  of  Trees  have  taken  place,  the  grass  of 
the  Plains  covers  them  :  and  from  this  cause  the  Great 
Plains  are  constantly  increasing  in  length  and  breadth,  and 
the  Deer  give  place  to  the  Bison.  But  the  mercy  of  Provi- 
dence has  given  a  productive  power  to  the  roots  of  the  grass 
of  the  Plains  and  of  the  Meadows,  on  which  the  fire  has  no 
eflFect.  The  fire  passes  in  flame  and  smoke,  what  was  a  lovely 
green  is  now  a  deep  black  ;  the  Rains  descend,  and  this  odious 
colour  disappears,  and  is  replaced  by  a  still  brighter  green  ; 
if  these  grasses  had  not  this  wonderful  productive  power  on 
which  fire  has  no  effects,  these  Great  Plains  would,  many 
centuries  ago,  have  been  without  Man,  Bird,  or  Beast. 

We  crossed  several  Brooks  of  salt  water,  which  come  from 
ponds  of  salt  water  on  the  west  side  of  the  River,  one,  or  two 
of  these  are  so  strongly  impregnated,  that  good  salt  is  made 
of  the   water  by  boiling ;    the   meat  salted  with  it,   is   well 


JOUKNEY  DOWN   THE  STONE   INDIAN     249 

preserved,  but  somewhat  corroded.  On  the  12'*"  we  came 
to  four  Lodges  of  Chippaways,  they  had  killed  two  poor 
Bulls,  of  which  we  were  glad  to  get  a  part,  and  the  next  day 
two  of  them  came  with  us,  which  relieved  us  from  the  fatigue 
of  beating  the  road.  At  this  trading  Post  I  stayed  six  days, 
making  astronomical  observations  which  determined  this  place 
to  be  in  Latitude  48°  58'  24"  north  Longitude  97°  iG  40"  W 
of  Greenwich  Variation  Si  degrees  East.  This  House  is 
therefore  one  minute  and  thirty  six  seconds  in  the  United 
States ;  the  boundary  Line  between  the  British  Dominions 
and  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  being  the  forty 
ninth  parallel  of  north  Latitude  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
/^  to  the  east  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.^  I  pointed  out  the 
Boundary  Line  to  which  they  must  remove ;  and  which 
Line,  several  years  after  was  confirmed  by  Major  Long  of 
the  corps  of  Engineers,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 
From  the  junction  of  the  Stone  Indian  with  this,  the  Red 
River,  the  course  is  S  iij  W  65 J  statute  miles,  but  to  the 
Boundary  Line  64  miles.  The  number  of  Men  that  now 
trade  at  this  house  are  95,  which  at  seven  souls  for  each  man, 
(rather  a  low  average),  gives  665  souls.  And  at  the  Rainy 
River  House,  which  lies  in  Latitude  48  .  36  .  5  8  N  Longitude 
93  .  19  .  30  W.  in  a  course  S  82  E  184  miles.  The  Chippaways 
who  trade  at  this  house  are  60  men,  giving  an  average  of 
420  souls  :  By  the  extent  of  their  hunting  grounds  each 
'  family  of  seven  souls,  has  150  to  180  square  miles  of  hunting 
ground,  and  yet  [they]  have  very  little  provisions  to  spare  ; 
this  alone  is  sufficient  to  show  the  ground  does  not  abound  in 
wild  animals.  The  Beaver  has  become  a  very  scarce  animal ; 
the  soil  and  climate  not  requiring  the  same  materials  for  his 
House,  become  a  more  easy  prey.  During  the  Summer  these 
Natives  subsist  on  fish,  and  in  Autumn,  part  of  them  on  wild 
rice. 

^  The  boundary  extended  to  the  watershed  range  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  not  to  the  east  foot,  as  is  here  stated. 


250      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

The  Woods  about  this  House  are  Oak,  Ash,  Ehn  and 
Nut  Woods,  the  Oaks  of  fine  growth,  tall  and  straight.  The 
largest  of  these  measured  ten  feet  girth  at  six  feet  above  the 
ground.  In  the  hollows  of  the  decayed  Trees,  the  Racoons  ^ 
take  shelter,  they  are  not  found  to  the  northward :  they  are 
a  fat  animal,  and  like  all  other  animals  that  feed  on  Nuts, 
their  fat  is  oily ;  without  the  skin  and  bowels,  the  weight  of 
one  is  about  fifteen  pounds.  They  lay  up  nothing  for  the 
winter,  and  are  dormant  during  the  cold  weather.  The  Red 
River  is  here  120  yards  in  width.  Eleven  miles  below  this 
the  Reed  River  from  the  eastward  falls  in,  it's  width  is  about 
the  same,  but  not  so  deep.  This  part  of  the  River  is  called 
Pembina,  from  a  small  Stream  that  comes  in.  As  this  River 
has  a  rich  deep  soil  and  [is]  everywhere  fit  for  cultivation,  it 
must  become  a  pastoral  and  agricultural  country,  but  for 
want  of  woods,  for  buildings  and  other  purposes,  must  be 
limited  to  near  the  River.  The  open  Plains  have  no  Woods 
and  afford  no  shelter.  Note.  Twenty  years  after  this  (1798) 
Several  Canadians  who  had  married  native  women  with  their 
families  first  settled,  and  they  were  soon  joined  by  the 
Servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  had  done  the 
same,  with  their  families.  This  settlement  rapidly  increased 
it's  population,  and  now  (1848)^  numbers  about  5000  souls. 
The  great  draw  back  on  this  fine  Settlement  is  the  want  of 
a  Market ;  York  Factory  in  Hudson's  Bay,  is  apparently  their 
Market,  but  the  distance  is  too  great,  being  N  24  E  606  miles 
on  a  straight  line,  and  the  devious  route  they  would  have  to 
follow  cannot  be  less  than  900  miles.  In  this  distance  there 
are  many  Carrying  Places,  over  which  every  thing  must  be 
carried ;  such  a  journey  with  their  products  would  require 
the  greater  part  of  the  short  summer  of  these  countries ;  and 
leave  the  Farmer  no  time  for  the  cultivation  of  his  ground. 

1  Procyon  lotor  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  The  date  here  inserted  is  interesting,  as  it  determines  the  year  in 
which  Thompson  wrote  this  portion  of  his  memoirs. 


JOURNEY  DOWN  THE  STONE  INDIAN     251 

It  would  be  a  journey  of  toil,  hard  labor  and  suffering,  and 
night  and  day  devoured  by  Musketoes  and  other  flies.  Hence 
York  Factory  cannot  be  a  market  for  the  Red  River.  The 
extra  produce  of  this  river  cannot  find  a  Market  at  Montreal, 
the  distance  is  too  great,  and  the  obstacles  too  many,  and  too 
laborious  to  be  overcome.  Nor  can  a  market  be  found  on 
the  Mississippe,  to  get  to  the  head  of  this  River  is  a  tedious 
route  with  many  Carrying  Places.  In  time  civilisation  will 
advance  to  them  by  this  River,  but  until  then  the  Red  River 
must  remain  an  isolated  Settlement. 

Here  in  the  Latitude  of  49  degrees,  the  Snow,  clear  of 
drift,  is  three  to  three  and  a  half  feet  in  depth ;  and  in  the 
Latitude  of  58  degrees  north  the  Snow  has  the  same  depth  ; 
but  falls  dry  as  dust,  it  adheres  to  nothing,  and  a  cubic  foot 
of  well  packed  snow,  when  melted,  yields  only  two  inches  of 
water.  But  in  the  former  latitude,  a  cubic  foot  of  well  packed 
snow  when  melted,  yields  from  four  to  five  inches  of  water. 
Hence  the  northern  Rivers,  on  the  melting  of  the  Snow,  are 
not  much  affected,  the  Snow  yields  but  little  water,  and  the~ 
frosts  of  every  night  check  its  quantity.  But  to  the  south- 
ward, the  Rivers  overflow  from  the  quantity  of  water  con- 
tained in  the  Snow,  and  the  thaw  being  more  steady  with 
greater  warmth. 

On  the  21''  March  we  proceeded  on  our  journey^  and  on 
the  25'^  arrived  at  the  trading  House  of  the  North  West 
Company  under  the  charge  of  Mons""  Baptiste  Cadotte. 
The  Weather  was  fine,  and  at  night  the  frost  made  the  Snow 
firm  for  several  hours  of  the  day.     Our  journey  was  along 

^  After  travelling  S.  io°  E,  ten  and  a  half  miles  up  the  west  side  of 
Red  river,  Thompson  passed  an  old  house  which  had  formerly  been  occu- 
pied by  a  trader  named  Grant.  After  travelling  S.  lo"  E.  thirty-five  miles, 
he  reached  the  trading-post  of  a  trader  named  Roy  or  Le  Roy,  which  he 
places  in  latitude  48*  23'  34"  N.,  five  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Salt  river. 
On  the  morning  of  March  23,  he  crossed  to  the  east  side  of  Red  river,  and 
went  overland  to  the  house  of  Baptiste  Cadotte  on  the  bank  of  Red  Lake 
river,  where  the  Clearwater  river  joins  it,  in  latitude  47"  54'  21",  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the  town  of  Red  Lake  Falls. 


252      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  Red  River  ;  in  some  places  there  were  fine  Ledges  of 
Woods  along  the  River,  of  moderate  width,  from  thirty  to 
three  hundred  yards ;  they  were  of  Oak,  Ash,  Elm,  Bass  and 
other  woods.  As  we  ascended,  the  Aspin  became  more 
frequent.  The  whole  a  fine  rich  deep  soil.  About  fifteen  to 
twenty  miles  westward  are  the  Hair  Hills ;  of  gentle  rising 
grounds,  with  groves  of  Wood  in  places.  At  the  east  foot  of 
these  Hills  are  the  low  grounds  with  Ponds  of  salt  water, 
and  from  which  several  Brooks  come  into  the  Red  River. 
The  Deer  and  Bisons  are  very  fond  of  the  grass  of  these 
places,  which  appears  to  keep  them  in  all  seasons  in  good 
condition 

Mr  Baptiste  Cadotte^  was  about  thirty  five  years  of  age. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  french  gentleman  by  a  native  woman,  and 
married  to  a  very  handsome  native  woman,  also  the  daughter 
of  a  Frenchman  :  He  had  been  well  educated  in  Lower 
Canada,  and  spoke  fluently  his  native  Language,  with  Latin, 
French  and  English.  I  had  long  wished  to  meet  a  well 
educated  native,  from  whom  I  could  derive  sound  informa- 
tion for  I  was  well  aware  that  neither  myself,  nor  any  other 
Person  I  had  met  with,  who  was  not  a  Native,  were  sufficiently 
masters  of  the  Indian  Languages.  As  the  season  was  ad- 
vancing to  break  up  the  Rivers,  and  thaw  the  Snow  from  oif 
the  ground,  I  enquired  if  he  would  advise  me  to  proceed  any 
farther  with  Dogs  and  Sleds  :  he  said  the  season  was  too  far 
advanced,  and  my  further  advance  must  be  in  Canoes ;  my 
last  wintering  ground  was  the  Rein  Deers  Lake  ^  in  Latitude 
57  .  23  North  which  Lake  was  frozen  over  to  the  5'**  day  of 
July,  when  it  broke  up  by  a  gale  of  wind,  and  hitherto  having 
been  confined  to  northern  chmes,  I  was  anxious  to  see  the 
workings  of  the  climate  of  48  degrees   north,   aided  by  the 

*  For  brief  notes  on  Baptiste  Cadotte  and  his  father,  see  Coues,  New 
Light,  pp.  929-30. 

^  The  previous  winter  had  been  spent  at  Bedford  House,  on  the  west 
side  of  Reindeer  lake,  and  the  weather  had  been  very  severe,  even  for 
that  northern  locaHty. 


JOURNEY  DOWN   THE   STONE   INDIAN     253 

influence  of  the  great,  and  warm  Valley  of  the  Mississippe, 
which  was  near  to  us.  I  shall  therefore  give  a  few  days  in 
the  form  of  a  journal. 

March  27'^.  A  fine  morning.  At  6i-  am  we  set  off  and 
went  up  along  the  River  thirteen  Miles,  through  Willows, 
small  Birch  and  Aspins  :  with  a  few  Oak  and  Ash  in  places ; 
to  2  PM  when  we  came  to  seven  Tents  of  Chippeways  and  to 
Sheshepaskut  (Sugar)  the  principal  Chief  of  the  Chippeway 
Tribe  ;  he  appeared  to  be  about  sixty  years  of  age,  and  yet 
had  the  activity  and  animated  countenance  of  forty.  His 
height  was  five  feet,  ten  inches.  His  features  round  and 
regular,  and  his  kind  behaviour  to  all  around  him,  and  to 
strangers,  concealed  the  stern,  persevering  Warrior,  under 
whose  conduct  the  incursions  of  the  Sieux  Indians  were  re- 
pressed, and  the  Village  Indians  driven  to  the  Missisourie  : 
We  stopped  at  his  Tent,  as  usual  we  were  well  received ;  he 
thought  the  season  too  much  advanced  but  would  send  a 
Guide  with  us  the  morrow. 

The  Snow  was  thawing  and  wet,  very  bad  walking.  On 
my  Journey  to  the  Missisourie  I  had  two  Thermometers ; 
On  my  return,  on  a  stormy  night,  one  got  broke,  and  the  one 
remaining  I  had  carefuUy  to  keep  for  my  astronomical  observa- 
tions, so  that  I  can  only  give  the  weather  in  general  terms. 

March  28'^.  The  night  was  mild,  and  the  Snow  still 
wet.  At  5^  AM  the  Guide  came,  and  we  advanced  about 
four  miles,  when  our  Guide  took  care  to  break  his  Snow  Shoes, 
and  went  back  to  the  Tents,  and  in  the  evening  the  Chief 
sent  me  another  Guide  ;  but  we  had  to  put  up  and  wait  all 
day.  The  Chippeways  had  killed  a  black  Bear,^  but  on  coming 
to  our  campment,  they  were  so  tired  with  heavy  walking, 
they  left  the  meat  with  us,  until  they  returned.  Three 
Geese  ^  were  seen  and  at  8  pm  Lightning,  Thunder  and  Rain 
came  on,  the  latter  during  the  whole  night. 

^  Ursus  americanus  Pallas.     [E.  A.  P.] 
2  Branta  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


254     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

March  29'''.  Rain  continued  until  noon  ;  The  Snow  was 
now  so  mixed  with  water,  that  we  could  not  proceed.  In 
the  evening  Rain  came  on  and  continued.  Every  thing  was 
wet,  without  a  chance  of  drying  our  clothes  and  baggage. 

March  30"".  Showers  of  Hail  and  Sleet.  With  the  Guide 
went  to  examine  the  country  before  us :  which  appeared  like 
a  Lake,  with  water.  I  had  therefore  to  return  to  M' 
Cadotte  and  wait  [for]  the  Rivers  to  become  clear  of  ice, 
which  was  now  too  weak  to  venture  upon^  Our  order  of 
march  was  each  of  us  carrying  upon  his  back  pvhat]  the  water 
could  injure,  every  step,  from  ancle  to  the  knee  in  snow 
water ;  the  Dogs  dragging  the  Sleds  floating  in  the  water. 
Swans,  Geese  and  Ducks  were  about ;  but  [of]  the  Eagles 
and  large  Hawks  which  to  the  northward  are  the  first  to 
arrive,  none  were  seen  : 

On  the  31".  After  three  hours  march,  at  the  rate  of  one 
mile  an  hour ;  we  became  too  fatigued,  laid  down  our  loads, 
and  with  one  man  light  we  went  to  the  house  to  get  help, 
bad  as  the  River  was,  we  ventured  on  it ;  like  desperate  men  ; 
my  companion  fell  through  three  times,  and  I  escaped  with 
only  once  ;  the  water  was  only  three  feet  deep,  and  we  carried 
a  long  light  pole  in  each  hand.  At  2  pm  thank  good  Provi- 
dence, we  arrived  at  the  house  of  Mr  Cadotte  who  directly 
sent  off  five  men  to  bring  every  thing  to  this  place.  Here  a 
few  days  has  thawed  three  and  a  half  feet  to  three  feet  of 
heavy  snow,  which  in  the  Latitide  of  57  or  58  degrees  north, 
require  five,  or  six  weeks  of  Hngering  weather. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

LIFE   AT   CADOTTE'S   HOUSE 

Wahhino  Dance — Home  oj  Wahhino  Singers — End  of  Wahbino 
Craze — Man  Eater — Weetogo — Sheshepaskufs  story  of  the 
war  with  the  Chyennes — Suicide  of  a  Sieux  woman  prisoner — 
Massacre  of  Chippeways. 

WE  had  now  to  wait  the  River  becoming  clear  of  ice, 
and  get  a  Canoe  in  order  for  our  voyage.  In  the 
mean  time  I  collected  some  information  on  the 
Religion  and  Ceremonies  of  these  people.  I  learned  that  of 
late  a  superstition  had  sprung  up,  and  was  now  the  attention 
of  all  the  Natives.  It  appeared  the  old  Songs,  Dances,  and 
Ceremonies  by  frequent  repetition  had  lost  all  their  charms, 
and  reHgious  attention ;  and  were  heard  and  seen  with 
indifference  :  some  novelty  was  required  and  called  for ;  and 
these  people  are  the  leaders  of  the  Tribe  in  superstition  and 
ceremonies.  Accordingly  two,  or  three  crafty  chiefs,  con- 
trived to  dream  (for  all  comes  by  Dreams)  after  having  passed 
some  time  in  a  sweating  cabin,  and  singing  to  the  music  of 
the  Rattle.  They  dreamed  they  saw  a  powerful  Medicine, 
to  which  a  Manito  voice  told  them  to  pay  great  attention 
and  respect,  and  saw  the  tambour  with  the  figures  on  it,  and 
also  the  Rattle  to  be  used  for  music  in  dancing  :  They  also 
heard  the  Songs  that  were  to  be  sung  :  They  were  to  call  it 
the  Wahbino  :  It  was  to  have  two  orders ;  the  first  only 
Wahbino  the  second  Keeche  Wahbino  ;  and  those  initiated 
to  bear  the  name  of  their  order,  (fool,  or  knave)  Every 
thing  belonging  to  the  Wahbino  was  sacred,  nothing  of  it  to 
touch  the  ground,  nor  to  be  touched  by  a  Woman. 


256      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Under  the  guidance  of  the  Wahbino  sages,  Tambours 
were  made,  the  frame  circular  of  eight  inches  in  depth  and 
eighteen  inches  diameter,  covered  with  fine  parchment ;  the 
frame  covered  with  strange  figures  in  red  and  black,  and  to 
it  were  suspended  many  bits  of  tin  and  brass  to  make  a  gingling 
noise  ;  the  Rattle  had  an  ornamented  handle  ;  and  several 
had  Wahbino  Sticks,  flat,  about  three  feet  or  more  in  length, 
with  rude  figures  carved  and  painted  :  The  Mania  became 
so  authoritative  that  every  young  man  had  to  purchase  a 
Wahbino  Tambour ;  the  price  was  what  they  could  get 
from  him  :  and  figured  dances  were  also  sold  ;  the  Knaves 
were  in  their  glory,  admired  and  getting  rich  on  the  credulity 
of  others,  but  there  were  several  sensible  Men  among  them, 
who  looked  with  contempt  on  the  whole  of  this  mumery  :  it 
was  harmless,  and  since  there  must  be  some  foolery,  this  was 
as  harmless  as  any  other,  I  asked  the  old  Chief,  what  he 
thought  of  it ;  he  gave  me  no  answer,  but  looked  me  full  in 
the  face,  as  much  as  to  say,  how  can  you  ask  me  such  a 
question.  I  was  present  at  the  exhibition  of  a  Wahbino 
dance  :  A  Keechee  Wahbino  Man  arrived,  he  soon  began  to 
make  a  speech  to  the  great  power  of  the  Wahbino,  and  to 
dance  to  his  Song.  He  seated  himself  on  the  ground,  on 
each  hand,  a  few  feet  from  him,  sat  two  men,  somewhat  in 
advance ;  the  Dancers  were  five  young  men  naked,  and 
painted,  above  the  waist  :  I  sat  down  by  one  of  the  two 
Men  ;  the  Wahbino  Man  began  the  Song  in  a  bold  strong 
tone  of  voice,  the  Song  was  pleasing  to  the  ear ;  the  young 
Men  danced,  sometimes  slowly,  then  changed  to  a  quick  step 
with  many  wild  gestures,  sometimes  erect,  and  then,  to  their 
bodies  being  horizontal  :  shaking  their  Tambours,  and  at 
times  singing  a  short  chorus.  They  assumed  many  attitudes 
with  ease,  and  showed  a  perfect  command  of  their  limbs. 
With  short  intervals,  this  lasted  for  about  an  hour.  I  watched 
the  countenance  of  the  Indian  next  to  me,  he  seemed  to 
regard  the  whole  with  sullen  indifference  ;   I  enquired  of  him, 


LIFE   AT   CADOTTE'S    HOUSE  257 

"  what  was  the  intent  and  meaning  of  what  I  had  seen  and 
heard  "  ;  With  a  smile  of  contempt  By  what  you  have  seen, 
and  heard ;  they  have  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
Squirrels  Musk  Rats  and  Racoons,  also  of  the  Swans,  Geese, 
Cranes  and  Ducks  :  their  Manito  is  weak.  "  Then  all  these 
are  to  be  in  abundance."  "  So  they  say,  but  we  shall  see." 
"  What  becomes  of  the  Bison,  the  Moose  and  Red  Deer. 
With  a  look  of  contempt ;  Their  Manito's  are  too  powerful 
for  the  Wahbino.  I  found  that  several  of  the  Indians  looked 
on  the  Wahbino  as  a  jugglery  between  knaves  and  fools  :  yet 
for  full  two  years  it  had  a  surprising  influence  over  the  Indians, 
and  too  frequently  [they]  neglected  hunting  for  singing  and 
dancing.  About  two  hours  after  the  exhibition,  an  Indian 
arrived  with  twenty  two  Beaver  Skins  to  trade  necessaries  for 
himself  and  family,  he  was  a  Man  in  the  prime  of  Hfe.  The 
Knave  of  a  Keeche  Wahbino  made  a  speech  to  him  on  the 
powerful  effects  of  the  Great  Wahbino  Song,  and  which  he 
directly  sang  to  him. 

The  Song  being  ended ;  the  Indian  presented  him 
eighteen  Beaver  Skins,  reserving  only  four  for  himself,  for 
these  he  traded  ammunition  and  tobacco,  and  [kept]  nothing 
for  his  wife  and  family ;  and  the  Knave  seemed  to  think  he 
was  but  barely  paid  for  his  song  and  ought  to  have  been  paid 
the  twenty  two  Beaver  Skins.  I  enquired  of  M""  Cadotte,  if 
he  could  interpret  to  me  the  Song  we  had  just  heard  :  he 
repHed,  that  although  they  spoke  in  the  language  of  his 
native  tongue,  he  did  not  understand  a  single  sentence  of 
the  Song,  only  a  chance  word,  which  was  of  no  use. 

We  both  had  the  same  opinion,  that  they  have  a  kind  of 
a  mystical  language  among  themselves,  understood  only  by 
the  initiated,  and  that  the  Wahbino  Songs,  were  in  this 
mystical  language  :  that  novelty  had  given  it  a  power,  which 
it  would  soon  lose ;  he  remarked  that  almost  all  the  Wahbino 
singers,  were  idle  Men  and  poor  hunters.  This  foUy  spread 
to  a  considerable  distance,  and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  became 


258      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

it's  central  place.  Several  lodges,  containing  forty  or  fifty 
families,  living  more  by  fishing  than  hunting,  became 
enamoured  of  the  Wahbino  Song  and  Dance,  and  so  many 
dancing  together  they  too  often  became  highly  excited  and 
danced  too  long.  One  of  them  made  a  neat  drum  for  him- 
self ;  on  which  he  placed  strings  of  particular  bones  of  small 
animals,  as  mice,  squirrels  and  frogs,  with  strings  of  the  bones 
and  claws  of  small  birds  :  and  on  beating  the  drum  as  the 
strings  of  bones  changed  positions,  pretended  to  tell  what 
was  to  happen.  These  Lodges  were  now  encamped  at  the 
sortie  of  the  Rainy  River  into  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  on  a 
fine,  long,  sandy  Point  on  the  left  side  of  the  River  :  long 
poles  were  tied  from  tree  to  tree,  on  which  were  carefully 
hung  the  Wahbino  Medicine  Bag  and  Tambour  of  each  Man. 

On  this  Point  the  North  West  Canoes  camped,  when  a 
gale  of  wind  was  on  the  Lake.  The  Lake  was  in  this  state  in 
1799,  when  we  arrived,  and  we  put  up  :  aboat  10  am.  At 
noon  by  double  Altitude  I  observed  for  Latitude, 

While  doing  so,  an  Indian  of  my  acquaintance,  came  and 
sat  dov/n.  When  I  was  done,  looking  at  the  parallel  glasses 
and  quicksilver,  he  said.  My  Wahbino  is  strong.  I  knew  that 
his  meaning  was  to  say,  By  what  you  are  doing,  you  give  to 
yourself  great  power,  my  Wahbino  can  do  the  same  for  me. 
I  told  him  the  Great  Spirit  alone  was  strong,  your  Wahbino 
is  Hke  this,  taking  up  a  pinch  of  sand  and  letting  it  fall.  He 
then  said  the  Sun  is  strong  ;  My  answer  was,  the  Great  Spirit 
made  the  Sun,  at  this  he  appeared  surprised  and  went  away. 

The  next  morning  the  Gale  of  Wind  continued ;  the 
Indian  came  to  me,  and  said,  yesterday  you  despised  my 
Wahbino,  and  I  have  thrown  it  away. 

In  the  night  the  Gale  had  thrown  down  the  Pole  to  which 
the  Tambour  and  Medicine  Bag  was  tied  ;  and  the  Dogs 
had  wetted  them  ;  he  was  indignant,  and  took  the  gun  to 
shoot  the  Dogs,  but  his  good  sense  prevented  him  ;  and 
looking  at   his  Tambour  and   Medicine  Bag  with  contempt. 


LIFE   AT   CADOTTE'S   HOUSE  259 

exclaimed  "  If  you,  the  Wahbino  had  any  power,  the  Dogs 
would  not  have  treated  you  as  they  have  done."  Other 
Tambours  were  in  the  same  condition,  the  news  of  this 
accident  spread,  the  sensible  men  took  advantage  of  it,  and 
by  the  following  summer  nothing  more  was  heard  of  the 
Wahbino  Medicine. 

I  called  to  M'  Cadotte's  attention  a  sad  affair  that  had 
taken  place  a  few  months  past  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods.  About  twenty  families  were  together  for  hunting 
and  fishing.  One  morning  a  young  man  of  about  twenty 
two  years  of  age  on  getting  up,  said  he  felt  a  strong  inclination 
to  eat  his  Sister ;  as  he  was  a  steady  young  man,  and  a  pro- 
mising hunter,  no  notice  was  taken  of  this  expression ;  the 
next  morning  he  said  the  same  and  repeated  the  same  several 
times  in  the  day  for  a  few  days.  His  Parents  attempted  to 
reason  him  out  of  this  horrid  inclination ;  he  was  silent  and 
gave  them  no  answer ;  his  Sister  and  her  Husband  became 
alarmed,  left  the  place,  and  went  to  another  Camp.  He 
became  aware  of  it ;  and  then  said  he  must  have  human 
flesh  to  eat,  and  would  have  it ;  in  other  respects,  his  behaviour 
was  cool,  calm  and  quiet.  His  father  and  relations  were 
much  grieved ;  argument  had  no  effect  on  him,  and  he 
made  them  no  answer  to  their  questions.  The  Camp  became 
alarmed,  for  it  was  doubtful  who  would  be  his  victim.  His 
Father  called  the  Men  to  a  Council,  where  the  state  of  the 
young  man  was  discussed,  and  their  decision  was,  that  an  evil 
Spirit  had  entered  into  him,  and  was  in  full  possession  of  him 
to  make  him  become  a  Man  Eater  (a  Weetego).  The  father 
was  found  fault  with  for  not  having  called  to  his  assistance  a 
Medicine  Man,  who  by  sweating  and  his  Songs  to  the  tambour 
and  rattle  might  have  driven  away  the  evil  spirit,  before  it 
was  too  late.  Sentence  of  death  was  passed  on  him,  which 
was  to  be  done  by  his  Father.  The  young  man  was  called, 
and  told  to  sit  down  in  the  middle,  there  was  no  fire,  which 
he  did,  he  was  then  informed  of  the  resolution  taken,  to  which 


260      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

he  said  "  I  am  willing  to  die  "  ;  The  unhappy  Father  arose, 
and  placing  a  cord  about  his  neck  strangled  him,  to  which 
he  was  quite  passive  ;  after  about  two  hours,  the  body  was 
carried  to  a  large  fire,  and  burned  to  Ashes,  not  the  least  bit 
of  bone  remaining.  This  was  carefully  done  to  prevent  his 
soul  and  the  evil  spirit  which  possessed  him  from  returning 
to  this  world ;  and  appearing  at  his  grave ;  which  they 
beHeve  the  souls  of  those  who  are  buried  can,  and  may  do, 
as  having  a  claim  to  the  bones  of  their  bodies.  It  may  be 
thought  the  Council  acted  a  cruel  part  in  ordering  the  father 
to  put  his  Son  to  death,  when  they  could  have  ordered  it 
by  the  hands  of  another  person.  This  was  done,  to  prevent 
the  law  of  retaliation  ;  which  had  it  been  done  by  the  hands 
of  any  other  person,  might  have  been  made  a  pretext  of 
revenge  by  those  who  were  not  the  friends  of  the  person 
who  put  him  to  death.  Such  is  the  state  of  Society  where 
there  are  no  positive  laws  to  direct  mankind. 

From  our  exploring  notes ;  it  appeared  to  us  that  this 
sad  evil  disposition  to  become  Weetego ;  or  Man  Eaters, 
was  wholly  confined  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Forests ;  no 
such  disposition  being  known  among  the  Indians  of  the  Plains ; 
and  this  limited  to  the  Nahathaway  and  Chippeway  Indians, 
for  the  numerous  Natives  under  the  name  of  Dinnae 
(Chepawyans)  whose  hunting  grounds  are  all  the  Forests 
north  of  the  latitude  of  56  degrees,  have  no  such  horrid  dis- 
position among  them. 

The  word  Weetego  is  one  of  the  names  of  the  Evil  Spirit 
and  when  he  gets  possession  of  any  Man,  (Women  are  wholly 
exempt  from  it)  he  becomes  a  Man  Eater,  and  if  he  succeeds ; 
he  no  longer  keeps  company  with  his  relations  and  friends, 
but  roams  all  alone  through  the  Forests,  a  powerful  wicked 
Man,  preying  upon  whom  he  can,  and  as  such  is  dreaded  by 
the  Natives.  Tradition  says,  such  evil  Men  were  more 
frequent  than  at  present,  probably  from  famine.  I  have 
known  a  few  instances  of  this  deplorable  turn  of  mind,  and 


LIFE   AT   CADOTTE'S   HOUSE  261 

not  one  instance  could  plead  hunger,  much  less  famine  as 
an  excuse,  or  cause  of  it.  There  is  yet  a  dark  chapter  to  be 
written  on  this  aberration  of  the  human  mind  on  this  head. 

The  Chief,  Sheshepaskut,  with  a  few  men  arrived,  with  a 
few  Beaver  Skins  and  Provisions ;  I  enquired  of  him,  the 
cause  of  his  making  war  on  the  Chyenne  Indians  and  destroy- 
ing their  Village,  and  the  following  is  the  substance  of  our 
conversation.  Our  people  and  the  Chyenne's  for  several 
years  had  been  doubtful  friends ;  but  as  they  had  Corn  and 
other  Vegetables,  which  we  had  not  and  of  which  we  were 
fond,  and  traded  with  them,  we  passed  over  and  forgot,  many 
things  we  did  not  like ;  until  lately ;  when  we  missed  our 
Men  who  went  a  hunting,  we  always  said,  they  have  fallen  by 
the  hands  of  our  enemies  the  Sieux  Indians.  But  of  late 
years  we  became  persuaded  the  Chyennes  were  the  people, 
as  some  missing  went  to  hunt  where  the  Sieux  never  came  ; 
We  were  at  a  loss  what  to  do ;  when  some  of  our  people 
went  to  trade  Corn,  and  while  there,  saw  a  Chyenne  Hunter 
bring  in  a  fresh  Scalp,  which  they  knew,  they  said  nothing, 
but  came  directly  to  me.  A  Council  was  called,  at  which 
all  the  Men  who  had  never  returned  from  hunting  were 
spoken  of  by  their  relations  ;  and  it  was  determined  the 
Chyenne  Village  must  be  destroyed  :  As  the  Geese  were 
now  leaving  us,  and  Winter  [was]  at  hand,  we  defered  to 
make  war  on  them  until  the  next  Summer  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time we  sent  word  to  all  the  men  of  our  tribe  to  be  ready  and 
meet  us  here  when  the  berries  are  in  flower.  Thus  the 
winter  passed  ;  and  at  the  time  appointed  we  counted  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  We  required  two  hundred,  but 
some  of  the  best  hunters  could  not  come,  they  had  to  hunt 
and  fish  for  the  families  of  the  warriors  that  came.  We  made 
our  War  Tent,  and  our  Medicine  Men  slept  in  it ;  their 
Dreams  forbid  us  to  attack  them  until  the  Bulls  were  fat ; 
the  Chyenne's  would  then  leave  their  Village  weak  to  hunt 
and  make  provisions.     To  which  we  agreed. 


262      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

The  time  soon  came,  and  we  marched  from  one  piece  of 
Woods  to  another,  mostly  in  the  night  until  we  came  to  the 
last  great  Grove  that  was  near  to  the  Village.  Our  Scouts 
were  six  young  men.  Two  of  them  went  to  a  small  Grove 
near  the  Village,  and  climbing  up  the  tallest  Oaks,  saw  all 
that  passed  in  the  Village  and  were  relieved  every  morning 
and  evening  by  other  two. 

We  thus  passed  six  days,  our  provisions  were  nearly  done, 
and  we  did  not  dare  to  hunt.  Some  of  our  men  dreamed  we 
were  discovered  and  left  us.  On  the  seventh  morning,  as  we 
were  in  council,  one  of  the  young  men  who  were  on  the  watch 
came  to  us,  and  gave  us  notice  that  the  Chyennes  had  col- 
lected their  Horses  and  brought  them  to  the  Village.  We 
immediately  got  ourselves  ready  and  waited  for  the  other 
young  man  who  was  on  the  Watch  ;  it  was  near  mid  day 
when  he  came  and  informed  us  that  a  great  many  men  and 
women  had  gone  off  a  hunting,  and  very  few  remained  in 
the  Village.  We  now  marched  leisurely  to  the  small  Grove 
of  Oaks  to  give  the  hunting  party  time  to  proceed  so  far  as 
to  be  beyond  the  sound  of  our  Guns.  At  this  Grove  we 
ought  to  have  remained  all  night  and  attack  the  next  morning  ; 
but  our  Provisions  were  done,  and  if  they  found  the  Bisons 
near  ;  part  of  them  might  return  ;  From  the  Grove  to  the 
Village  was  about  a  mile  of  open  plain  ;  as  we  ran  over,  we 
were  perceived,  there  were  several  Horses  in  the  Village  on 
which  the  young  people  got,  and  rode  off. 

We  entered  the  Village  and  put  every  one  to  death,  except 
three  Women ;  after  taking  every  thing  we  wanted,  we 
quickly  set  fire  to  the  Village  and  with  all  haste  retreated  for 
those  that  fled  at  our  attack  would  soon  bring  back  the  whole 
party,  and  we  did  not  wish  to  encounter  Cavalry  in  the 
Plains. 

Here  the  old  Chief  lighted  his  pipe,  and  smoked  in  a 
thoughtful  manner.  M""  Cadotte  then  took  up  the  narrative. 
Those  left  in  charge  of  the  village  were  twelve  Men  of  a 


LIFE   AT   CADOTTE'S    HOUSE  268 

certain  age,  and  as  there  was  no  time  to  scalp  them  in  the 
manner  they  wished,  their  heads  were  cut  off,  put  into  bags ; 
with  which,  and  the  prisoners,  they  marched  through  the 
Woods  to  the  camp  near  the  Rainy  River.  Here  they  re- 
counted their  exploits,  and  prepared  for  a  grand  war  dance 
the  next  day  :  which  accordingly  took  place.  One  of  the 
three  Women  prisoners  was  a  fine  steady  looking  woman  with 
an  infant  in  her  arms  of  eight  months,  which  they  in  vain 
tried  to  take  from  her.  Each  time  she  folded  it  in  her  arms 
with  desperate  energy,  and  they  allowed  her  to  keep  it. 

The  war  circle  being  made  by  the  Men,  their  Wives  and 
Children  standing  behind  them,  the  three  prisoners  were 
placed  within  the  war  circle ;  the  heads  taken  were  rolled 
out  of  the  bags  on  the  ground  :  and  preparatory  to  their 
being  scalped,  the  whole  circle  of  Men,  Women,  and  Children 
with  tambours  rattles  and  flutes,  shouted  the  War  whoop, 
and  danced  to  the  song  of  Victory.  The  prisoner  Woman 
with  her  infant  in  her  arms  did  not  dance,  but  gently  moved 
away  to  where  the  head  of  her  husband  was  lying,  and  catch- 
ing it  up,  kissed  it  and  placed  it  to  the  lips  of  her  infant ; 
it  was  taken  from  her  and  thrown  on  the  ground ;  a  second 
time  she  seized  it,  and  did  the  same  ;  it  was  again  taken  from 
her,  and  thrown  on  the  ground ;  a  third  time  she  pressed  the 
head  of  her  husband  to  her  heart,  to  the  lips  of  herself  and 
child  ;  it  was  taken  from  her  with  menace  of  death  :  holding 
up  her  infant  to  heaven,  she  drew  a  sharp  pointed  Knife 
from  her  bosom,  plunged  it  into  her  heart ;  and  fell  dead  on 
the  head  of  her  husband.  They  buried  her,  and  her  infant 
was  taken  to,  and  brought  uji  at,  the  Rainy  River  House. 

The  old  Chief  still  smoking  his  pipe,  said  the  Great 
Spirit  had  made  her  a  Woman,  but  had  given  her  the  heart 
of  a  Man. 

Our  discourse  then  turned  on  the  Sixty  Seven  souls.  Men 
Women  and  Children  that  two  springs  ago  were  destroyed  by 
the  Sieux  Indians  at  the  Sand  Lake  of  the  Mississippe  where 


264     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

they  were  making  Sugar  ;  The  Chief  repHed  that  he  did  not 
know  what  to  say  to  it ;  it  was  a  bad  affair  and  they  longed 
to  revenge  it  :  but  they  in  a  manner  brought  it  on  them- 
selves. For  several  years  there  had  been  no  regular  war 
between  us,  they  had  left  the  Woods,  made  very  little  use  of 
Canoes,  and  having  many  Horses  were  living  in  the  Plains 
and  had  we  waited,  would  have  left  the  whole  of  the  Woods 
to  us.  The  Sand  Lake  was  finely  wooded  with  large  Maples, 
which  had  never  been  tapped ;  this  tempted  our  people, 
they  went  and  made  a  great  deal  of  Sugar ;  this  did  for  once, 
and  the  Sieux  took  no  notice  of  it ;  but  when  they  returned 
the  next  spring,  this  was  making  that  Lake  their  own,  the 
Sieux  did  not  care  for  it,  but  would  not  allow  it  to  be  taken 
from  them.  They  formed  a  war  party  and  so  completely  sur- 
prised our  people,  that  not  one  escaped,  and  the  enmity 
that  was  dying  away  between  us  is  now  as  bad  as  ever.  While 
they  keep  the  Plains  with  their  Horses  we  are  not  a  match 
for  them  ;  for  we  being  foot  men,  they  could  get  to  windward 
of  us,  and  set  fire  to  the  grass ;  When  we  marched  for  the 
Woods,  they  would  be  there  before  us,  dismount,  and  under 
cover  fire  on  us.  Until  we  have  Horses  like  them,  we  must 
keep  to  the  Woods,  and  leave  the  plains  to  them. 

On  conversing  with  these  Chippaways  they  all  readily 
understood  me,  though  frequently  I  did  not  understand  them, 
and  M"  Cadotte  had  to  interpret  between  us.  He  also  ex- 
pressed his  surprise  that  they  should  understand  me,  which 
he  did  not ;  they  replied,  we  understand  him  because  he 
speaks  the  language  of  our  Fathers,  which  we  have  much 
changed  and  made  better.  On  comparing  the  Nouns  and 
Verbs  of  the  primitive  language  of  the  Nahathaways  with  the 
Chippaway  dialect,  the  greatest  change  appeared  in  con- 
stantly rejecting  the  "  th  "  of  the  former  for  the  "  y  "  of  the 
latter,  as  for  Kether  (you)  Keyer — for  Neether  (me)  Neeyer — 
for  Weether  (thou)  Weeyer  ;  and  softening  a  great  number 
of  others,  rejecting  some  and  substituting  others,  and  giving 


LIFE   AT   CADOTTE'S    HOUSE  265 

to  the  whole  a  more  sonorous  sound  as  best  adapted  to  their 
oratory.  The  dialects  of  the  primitive  language  extend  to  the 
Delaware  River ;  and  the  Delaware  Indians  speak  a  dialect  of 
the  primitive  language. 

By  astronomical  observations  this  House  is  in  Latitude 
47  .  54 .  21  N.  Longitude  96 .  19  W  Variation  10  degrees  East. 
The  course  of  this  River  is  from  the  south  westward  until  it 
is  lost  in  the  Plains,  the  groves  are  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  each  other,  by  no  means  sufficient  for  the  regular 
Farmer,  but  may  become  a  fine  pastoral  country,  but  without 
a  Market,  other  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  Red  River. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

DISCOVER   THE   SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE 

Another  start — Clear  Water  River — Carrying  Place  oj  Red 
Lake  River — Spearing  Fish — Arrive  at  Turtle  Lake — 
Birds — Wild  Rice — Otter — Turtle  Lake. 

THE  Rivers  becoming  clear  of  ice,  a  Birch  Rind  Canoe 
of  eighteen  feet  in  length,  by  three  feet  in  breadth 
was  made  ready  ;  and  on  the  ninth  day  of  April 
with  three  Canadians,  and  a  native  Woman,  the  Wife  of  one 
of  the  Men,  and  twelve  days  provisions  in  dried  meat.  We 
set  out  to  survey  the  country  to  the  source  of  the  Mississippe 
River  :  We  had  the  choice  of  two  Rivers,  that  direct  from 
the  Red  Lake  ;  the  current  moderate,  but  liable  to  be  en- 
cumbered with  ice  from  the  Lake,  or  the  Clear  Water  River 
of  swift  current  :  without  any  ice  ;  we  preferred  the  latter, 
and  proceeded  slowly  up  it.  This  River  was  fifty  five  yards 
in  width  by  about  eight  feet  in  depth,  from  the  melting  of 
the  Snow.  But  as  all  these  Rivers  are  fed  by  Snow  and 
Rains,  in  the  months  of  August  and  September  this  River's 
depth  will  not  exceed  one  or  two  feet.  Although  the 
country  appears  a  perfect  level  the  current  ran  at  the  rate  of 
full  four  miles  an  hour.  The  River  was  too  deep,  to  anchor 
our  ticklish  Canoe,  but  seeing  a  piece  of  Wood  on  the  middle 
of  the  River  I  left  the  Canoe  and  walked  as  fast  as  I  could, 
yet  the  current  carried  the  wood  faster  than  I  walked. 

On  the  eleventh  we  passed  the  junction  of  the  Wild  Rice 

River  from  the  westward,  with  a  body  of  water  equal  to  half 

266 


DISCOVER   SCOURGE   OF   MISSISSIPPE     267 

this  River,  and  we  have  now  less  water  with  more  moderate 
current.  On  the  twelfth  we  arrived  at  the  Carrying  Place 
which  leads  to  the  Red  Lake  River,  having  come  sixty  four 
miles  up  this  sinuous  River.  The  east  side,  or  right  bank 
had  fine  Forests,  but  as  we  advanced,  the  Aspin  became  the 
principal  growth  of  the  Woods.  The  West  Bank  had  patches 
of  hard  wood  trees,  with  much  fine  meadow  which  led  to 
the  Plains,  the  whole  a  rich  deep  soil. 

The  Carrying  Place  is  four  miles  in  length  of  part  marsh 
and  part  good  ground  to  the  Bank  of  the  Red  Lake  River, 
in  Latitude  48  .  o  .  55  N  Longitude  95  .  54 .  28  W.^  Variation 
10°  East. 

Our  course  was  now  up  this  River  to  the  Red  Lake,  a 
distance  of  thirty  two  miles.  Both  banks  of  this  River  well 
timbered  with  Oak,  Ash  and  other  hard  Woods,  intermixed 
with  much  Aspin  and  Poplar.  A  rich  deep  soil,  but  now  from 
the  melting  of  the  Snow  every  where  covered  with  water,  the 
country  so  level,  that  only  a  chance  bit  of  dry  bank  was  to 
be  seen  ;  At  night  we  cut  down  Trees  and  slept  upon  them. 
As  our  provisions  were  dried  meat  we  did  not  require  fire  to 
cook  our  supper,  and  a  Canadian  never  neglects  to  have 
touchwood  for  his  pipe.  By  Observations  the  head  of  the 
River  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake,  is  in  Latitude  47  .  58  .  15  N. 
Longitude  95  .  35  •  37  W  The  straight  course  and  distance 
from  M"  Cadotte's  House  is,  N  82  E  35  miles,  to  perform 
which  we  have  gone  over  117  Statute  miles  and  employed 
seven  long  days,  setting  off  at  5  am  and  putting  up  at  7  pm. 

At  the  Lake  the  kind  old  Chief,  Sheshepaskut  with  six 
Lodges  of  Chippeways  were  camped.  He  gave  us  three  pickerel 
and  two  large  pike,  a  welcome  change  from  dried  meat.  As 
they  had  no  Canoe,  and  therefore  could  not  spear  fish  in  the 
night,  they  requested  the  loan  of  mine,  which  was  lent  to 
them.     The  spearing  of  fish  in  the  night,  is  a  favorite  mode 

^  This  is  the  position  given  in  Thompson's  notes  for  the  north  end  of 
the  portage. 


268      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

with  them,  and  gives  to  them  a  considerable  part  of  their 
Hvelihood.  The  spear  handle  is  a  straight  pole  of  ten  to 
twelve  feet  in  length,  headed  with  a  barbed  iron  ;  A  rude 
narrow  basket  of  iron  hoops  is  fixed  to  a  pole  of  about  six 
feet  in  length.  A  quantity  of  birch  rind  is  collected  and 
loosely  tied  in  small  parcels.  When  the  night  comes,  the 
darker  the  better,  two  Men  and  a  Boy  embark  in  a  Canoe, 
the  one  gently  and  quietly  to  give  motion  to  the  Canoe. 
The  pole  and  basket  is  fixed  in  the  Bow  under  which  the 
Spearman  stands,  the  Birch  Rind  is  set  on  fire,  and  burns 
with  a  bright  light ;  but  only  for  a  short  time,  the  Boy  from 
behind  feeds  the  Hght,  so  as  to  keep  a  constant  blaze.  The 
approach  of  the  flaming  Hght  seems  to  stupify  the  fish,  as  they 
are  all  speared  in  a  quiesent  state.  The  Lake  or  River  is 
thus  explored  for  several  hours  until  the  Birch  Rind  is 
exhausted,  and  on  a  calm  night  a  considerable  number  is 
thus  cai:^ht.  Those  in  my  canoe,  speared  three  Sturgeon, 
each  weighing  about  sixty  pounds.  For  a  clear  water  Lake 
they  were  very  good  ;  for  the  Sturgeon  may  be  called  the 
Water  Hog,  and  is  no  where  so  good  and  fat  as  among  the 
alluvials  of  Rivers.  This,  the  Red  Lake  is  a  fine  sheet  of 
Water  of  about  thirty  miles  in  length  by  eight  to  lo  miles 
in  breadth ;  the  banks  rise  about  twenty  to  thirty  feet,  the 
soil  is  somewhat  sandy  and  produces  Firs  of  a  fine  growth, 
with  the  other  usual  woods,  and  in  places,  the  white  Cedar 
but  of  short  growth.  This  Lake  like  several  other  places, 
has  occasionally  a  trading  House  for  one  Winter  only,  the 
country  all  around,  being  too  poor  in  furrs  to  be  hunted  on 
a  second  winter.  The  Lake  being  covered  with  ice,  and 
patches  of  water,  at  places  we  paddled  the  Canoe,  and  where 
the  ice  was  firm,  made  a  rude  Sledge  on  which  we  placed  the 
Canoe  and  Baggage,  and  hauled  it  over  the  ice  to  a  patch  of 
water  and  thus  continued  for  seventeen  miles  ;  a  laborious 
work  and  always  wet,  the  weather  frequent  showers  of  Rain 
and    Sleet,    and    then    clear   weather.     We    now    came    to   a 


DISCOVER   SCOURGE   OF   MISSISSIPPE     269 

Carrying  Place  of  six  miles  in  length,  in  a  south  direction, 
over  which  we  carried  our  Canoe  and  things. 

The  Road  was  through  Firs  and  Aspins,  with  a  few  Oaks 
and  Ash.  Near  the  middle  of  the  Carrying  Place  the  Ground 
had  many  ascents  and  descents  of  twenty  to  forty  feet,  the 
first  we  have  seen  since  we  left  the  Red  River.  By  9  pm  on 
the  23'''*  of  April  we  had  carried  all  over,  and  now  had  to 
cross  the  country  to  the  Turtle  Lake,^  the  head  of  the  Missis- 
sippe  River  at  which  we  arrived  on  the  27'^.  Our  Journey 
has  been  very  harassing  and  fatigueing  ;  from  Pond  to  Pond 
and  Brook  to  Brook  with  many  carrying  places,  the  Ponds, 
or  small  Lakes  were  some  open,  others  wholly  or  partly 
covered  with  ice  ;  the  Brooks  so  winding,  that  after  paddHng 
an  hour  we  appeared  to  have  made  very  little,  or  no  advance. 

The  country  everywhere  appeared  low  and  level,  some- 
thing Hke  an  immense  swamp.  Everywhere  there  was  much 
wild  rice,'^  upon  which  the  wild  fowl  fed,  and  became  very  fat 
and  well  tasted  ;  The  Swan  was  a  very  rare  bird  ;  and  of  the 
different  species  of  Geese,  [there  were]  only  two  species  of 
the  Grey  Goose  ;  ^  but  the  Ducks  [were  found]  in  all  their 
varieties  :  the  Cranes  *  and  Bitterns  ^  upon  their  usual  food 
were  equally  good ;  of  the  Plover  species  there  were  but  few, 
the  Ponds  having  their  low  banks  covered  with  long  grass. 
In  some  Ponds  there  were  Pelicans  ^  and  Cormorants,'  the 
former  as  disgusting  as  usual.     The  large  spotted  Loons  ^  were 

^  In  Thompson's  notes  there  is  this  reference  to  Turtle  brook :  "  This 
is  the  source  of  the  famous  Mississippi  river  in  the  most  direct  Hne.  All 
the  other  little  sources  are  reckoned  to  be  subordinate  to  this,  as  they  are 
longer  in  forming  so  considerable  a  stream.  The  brook  that  furnishes 
water  to  this  lake  comes  in  on  the  right  hand,  from  the  south  bay  of  the 
Turtle  Lake."     The  latitude  of  Turtle  lake  is  given  as  47°  38'  21"  N. 

2  Zizania  aquatica  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Branta  canadensis  (Linn.)  and  B.  c.  hutchinsi  (Rich.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*■  Grus  (perhaps  more  than  one  species).     [E.  A.  P.] 

5  Boiaurus  lentiginosus  (Montagu).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Pelecanus  erythrorhynchos  Gmel.     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Phalacrocorax  auritus  (Lesson).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Gavia  immer  (Brunn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


270      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

in  every  Pond  that  was  open  ;  this  wily  Bird,  as  soon  as  he 
saw  us  set  up  his  cry,  and  was  at  a  loss  whether  to  fly  or 
dive.  For  the  latter  the  ponds  were  too  shoal  and  full  of 
rice  stalks ;  and  before  he  could  raise  his  flight  he  had  to 
beat  the  water  with  Wings  and  Feet  before  he  could  raise 
himself.  This  exposed  them  to  our  shots,  and  we  killed 
several  of  them.  Their  beautiful  spotted  skins  make  favorite 
Caps  for  the  Natives,  and  two  Canoes  of  Chippaways  being 
in  company  were  thankful  to  get  them.  It  is  very  well  known 
that  at  Churchill  Factory  in  Hudson's  Bay  in  Latitude 
58  .  47  .  32  N  Longitude  94  .  13  .  48  West,  in  the  spring  wild 
grey  geese  are  killed  with  wild  Rice  in  their  stomachs ;  on 
which  they  must  have  fed  near  the  Turtle  Lake  in  Latitude 
47-39-^5  ■'^  Longitude  95  .  12  .  45  W,  the  direct  distance  be- 
tween the  two  places  is  N  3  E  780  statute  miles.  Wild  Rice, 
but  not  in  any  quantity,  so  as  to  feed  numerous  flocks  of 
Geese,  grow  in  places  near  the  Latitude  of  50  degrees  north, 
but  even  from  these  few  places  the  distance  to  Churchill 
Fort  will  be  about  660  miles.  The  wild  rice  grows  in  great 
plenty  all  round  the  Turtle  Lake,  allowing  this  Lake  to  be 
their  centre.  The  Ponds,  Brooks,  Rivulets  and  small  Lakes  in 
which  the  wild  Rice  grows  in  abundance  occupies  an  extent 
of  area  of  at  least  six  thousand  square  miles.  It  is  a  weak 
food,  those  who  live  for  months  on  it  enjoy  good  health,  are 
moderately  active,  but  very  poor  in  flesh  :  The  Wild  Geese, 
before  a  Gale  of  Wind  fly  at  the  rate  of  sixty  miles  an  hour, 
which  at  this  rate  requires  thirteen  hours  from  their  rice 
ground  to  take  them  to  Churchill  Fort.  (Note.  Conversing 
with  Surgeon  Howard  of  Montreal  on  the  great  distance  the 
Wild  Geese  fly  without  digesting  the  rice  in  their  stomachs, 
he  related  to  me  an  experiment  of  the  late  D""  John  Hunter  on 
digestion.  He  had  two  grey  hounds.  One  morning  he  fed 
them  both  with  the  same  quantity  and  quality  of  Meat  ;  the 
one  he  tied  up,  and  [it]  remained  quiet  aU  day  ;  and  with 
the  other  he  hunted  all  day  :    about  sunset  they  were  both 


DISCOVER   SCOURGE   OF   MISSISSIPPE     271 

killed.  On  examining  the  hound  that  was  tied  up,  the  Meat 
was  wholly  digested  ;  but  in  the  stomach  of  the  hound  that 
had  hunted  all  day  the  meat  was  but  little  changed.  Thus  it 
appears  that  animals  on  a  rapid  march  do  not  digest  their 
food,  or  very  slowly).  These  extensive  rice  grounds  are  pro- 
bably the  last  place  where  the  Wild  Fowl  that  proceed  far 
to  the  northward  (about  1400  miles)  to  make  their  nests, 
and  bring  up  their  young,  feed  for  a  few  days  to  give  them 
strength  for  their  journey,  for  the  late  springs  of  the  northern 
climes  they  pass  over  cannot  give  them  much.  In  the  Brooks 
and  small  Lakes  were  several  Otters,^  of  which  we  killed  one ; 
to  make  the  flesh  of  this  animal  more  palatable,  the  Natives 
hang  it  in  the  smoke  for  a  couple  of  days. 

For  the  first  time  we  saw  the  small  brown  Eagle,  some 
days  we  saw  at  least  a  dozen  of  them,  but  always  beyond  the 
reach  of  our  Guns.  From  M""  Cadotte's  House  on  the  Red 
River  to  this  place,  the  Turtle  Lake  we  have  been  nineteen 
days,  rising  early  and  putting  up  late,  and  yet  by  my  astro- 
nomical observations,  the  course  and  distance  is  S  71  E  56 
statute  miles,  in  a  direct  line  not  quite  three  miles  a  day. 
These  circuituous  routes  deceive  the  traveller,  and  induce  him 
to  think  he  is  at  a  much  greater  distance  from  a  given  place 
than  what  he  actually  is.  The  Turtle  Lake,  which  is  the 
head  of  the  Mississippe  River,  is  four  miles  in  length,  by  as 
many  in  breadth  and  it's  small  bays  give  it  the  rude  form 
a  Turtle. 

(Note.  By  the  treaty  of  1^83  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States,  the  northern  boundary  of  the  latter  was 
designated  to  be  a  Line  due  west  from  the  north  [west]  corner 
of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  (in  latitude  49 .  46I  N)  to  the  head 
of  the  Mississippe  which  was  supposed  to  be  still  more  to  the 
north :  This  supposition  arose  from  the  Fur  Traders  on 
ascending  the  Mississippe  which  is  very  sinuous,  counting 
every  pipe  a  League  of  three  miles  at  the  end  of  which  they 

^  Lutra  canadensis  (Schreber).     [E.  A.  P.] 


272     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

claimed  a  right  to  rest  and  smoke  a  pipe.  By  my  survey  I 
found  these  pipes  to  be  the  average  length  of  only  two  miles, 
and  they  also  threw  out  of  account  the  windings  of  the  River, 
and  thus  placing  the  Turtle  Lake  128  geo.  miles  too  far  to 
the  north). ^ 

^  This  statement  by  Thompson  has  been  widely  quoted,  but  is 
erroneous.  The  negotiators  of  the  prehminary  treaty  of  peace,  November, 
1782,  had  before  them  a  copy  of  the  Mitchell  map  of  North  America, 
published  in  1755.  The  north-west  corner  of  this  map  contained  an 
"  inset  "  map  of  the  Labrador  peninsula  and  Hudson  Bay,  doubtless  in- 
serted there  because,  at  the  date  of  publication,  the  geographical  infor- 
mation respecting  the  Red  river  region  was  so  meagre.  The  Mississippi 
river  is  shown  as  a  large  stream  where  cut  off  by  the  inset  map,  and,  to 
anyone  relying  solely  upon  the  Mitchell  map,  it  would  seem  evident  that 
it  would  extend  northward  at  least  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  the  north-west 
angle  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  But  for  this  inset  map,  and  errors  in 
the  body  of  the  map,  our  boundary  would,  almost  certainly,  have  followed 
the  St.  Louis  river  from  the  present  city  of  Duluth,  thence  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Mississippi.  Much  geographical  confusion  has  been  caused 
by  over-estimation  of  distances,  but,  as  stated  above,  our  territorial  losses 
in  this  area  are  not  due  to  this  cause.     [James  White.] 


CHAPTER    XIX 

SCOURGE  OF  THE   MISSISSIPPE   TO 
LAKE   SUPERIOR 

Turtle  Brook — Red  Cedar  Lake — Trading  Post — Collecting  Wild 
Rice — Maple  Sugar — Rights  in  Maple  Groves — Mississippe 
— Lake  Winepegoos — Sand  Lake  River — Ascend  Sand  Lake 
River — Sand  Lake  Trading  Post — Great  Swamps — S' 
Louis  River — Rapids  iff  Falls — Trading  Post — Elevations 
— Lake  Superior — Copper  on  Lake  Superior — Large  Lakes 
of  North  America — Survey  of  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior — 
Echo  at  Ontonoggan  River — Arrive  at  Falls  of  S'  Maries — 
Meet  Sir  Alexander  M'Kenzie — Instructions  from  the  North 
West  Company — Survey  of  the  east  and  part  of  the  north 
shore  of  Lake  Superior. 

TWO  canoes  of  Chippaway  Indians  came  to  us  on  their 
way  to  the  Red  Cedar  Lake ;  As  my  Canoe  from 
coming  too  often  in  contact  with  the  ice  was  Leaky 
I  embarked  with  them  to  the  Red  Cedar  Lake.  From  the 
SW  corner  of  the  Turtle  Lake  a  Brook  goes  out,  by  the  name 
of  the  Turtle  Brook  of  three  yards  in  width  by  two  feet  in 
depth  at  2i  miles  p*"  hour,  but  so  very  winding,  that  rather 
than  follow  it  we  made  a  Carrying  Place  of  i8o  yards,  to  a 
small  Lake  which  sends  a  Brook  into  it,  and  which  we  followed, 
and  then  continued  the  main  stream  following  its  incredible 
windings  and  turnings  through  apparently  an  extensive  very 
low  country  of  grass  and  marsh. 

There  were  three  Falls,  along  which  we  made  as  many 
carrying  places,  and  several  rapids  over  a  gravel  bottom ;    As 

=73  S 


274     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

we  proceeded  several  Brooks  came  in  from  each  hand,  and  we 
entered  the  Red  Cedar  Lake  ^  in  a  fine  Stream  of  fifteen  yards 
in  width  by  two  feet  in  depth,  and  three  miles  an  hour.  Pro- 
ceeding five  miles  over  the  Lake  we  came  to  the  trading  house 
of  M'  John  Sayer,^  a  Partner  of  the  North  West  Company, 
and  in  charge  of  this  Department.  By  my  Observations  this 
House  is  in  Latitude  47  .  27  .  56  N  Longitude  94. .  47  .  52  West 
Variation  6  degrees  East.  From  the  north  bank  of  Turtle 
Lake  to  this  trading  house  the  course  and  distance  S  58  E  25 
Miles,  but  the  windings  of  the  River  will  more  than  treble 
this  distance.  The  Stream  has  a  grassy  valley  in  which  it 
holds  it's  zigzag  course  ;  this  land  is  very  low.  The  Woods  on 
each  side  of  the  Valley  are  of  Oak,  Ash,  Elm,  Larch,  Birch,^ 
Pines,  Aspins  and  where  a  little  elevated  fine  Maple.*  The 
soil  every  where  deep  and  rich  with  abundance  of  long  grass. 
The  Brooks  and  Ponds  and  the  Turtle  Rivulet  almost  from 
side  to  side  full  of  the  Stalks  of  the  Wild  Rice,  which  makes 
it  very  laborious  to  come  against  the  current,  as  the  canoe 
must  keep  the  middle  of  the  stream  against  the  full  force  of 
the  current.  M'  Sayer  and  his  Men  had  passed  the  whole 
winter  on  wild  rice  and  maple  sugar,  which  keeps  them  aHve, 
but  poor  in  flesh  :  Being  a  good  shot  on  the  wing  I  had  killed 
twenty  large  Ducks  more  than  we  wanted,  which  I  gave  to 
him  a  most  welcome  present,  as  they  had  not  tasted  meat  for 
a  long  time.  A  mess  of  rice  and  sugar  was  equally  acceptable 
to  me  who  had  lived  wholly  on  meat ;  and  I  tried  to  hve 
upon  it,  but  the  third  day  was  attacked  with  heart  burn  and 
weakness  of  the  stomach,  which  two  meals  of  meat  cured  ; 
but  the  rice  makes  good  soup.  From  the  remarks  I  have 
made  in  the  vicissitudes  of  my  Hfe,  I  have  always  found  that 

^  Now  known  as  Cass  lake. 

*  John  Sayer  was  one  of  the  wintering  partners  who  signed  the  agree- 
ment of  1804  consolidating  the  North-West  and  X  Y  Companies.  His 
house  at  this  time  was  on  the  north-east  side  of  Cass  lake. 

^  Betula  papyrifera  Marsh.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Acer  saccharum  Marsh.     [E.  A.  P.] 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         275 

men  leading  an  active  life  readily  change  their  food  from 
vegetable  to  animal  without  inconvenience,  but  not  from 
animal  to  vegetable,  the  latter  often  attended  with  weakness 
of  the  bowels. 

The  wild  Rice  is  fully  ripe  in  the  early  part  of  September. 
The  natives  lay  thin  birch  rind  all  over  the  bottom  of  the 
Canoe,  a  man  lightly  clothed,  or  naked  places  himself  in  the 
middle  of  the  Canoe,  and  with  a  hand  on  each  side,  seizes 
the  stalks  and  knocks  the  ears  of  rice  against  the  inside  of  the 
Canoe,  into  which  the  rice  falls,  and  thus  he  continues  until 
the  Canoe  is  full  of  rice  ;  on  coming  ashore  the  Women  assist 
in  unloading.  A  canoe  may  hold  from  ten  to  twelve  bushels. 
He  smokes  his  pipe,  sings  a  Song ;  and  returns  to  collect 
another  canoe  load. 

And  so  plentifuU  is  the  rice,  an  industrious  Man  may  fill 
his  canoe  three  times  in  a  day.  Scaffolds  are  prepared  about 
six  feet  from  the  ground  made  of  small  sticks  covered  with 
long  grass ;  on  this  the  rice  is  laid,  and  gentle  clear  fires  kept 
underneath  by  the  women,  and  turned  until  the  rice  is  fully 
dried.  The  quantity  collected  is  no  more  than  the  scaffolds 
can  dry,  as  the  rice  is  better  on  the  stalk  than  on  the  ground. 
The  rice  when  dried  is  pounded  in  a  mortar  made  of  a  piece 
of  hollow  oak  with  a  pestle  of  the  same  until  the  husk  comes 
off.  It  is  then  put  up  in  bags  made  of  rushes  and  secured 
against  animals.  The  Natives  collect  not  only  enough  for 
themselves,  but  also  as  much  as  the  furr  traders  will  buy 
from  them  ;  Two  or  three  Ponds  of  water  can  furnish  enough 
for  all  that  is  collected. 

In  the  Spring  the  Natives  employ  themselves  in  making 
Sugar  from  the  Maple  Trees,  the  process  of  doing  which  is 
well  known.  The  old  trees  give  a  stronger  sap  than  the  young 
trees ;  The  Canadians  also  make  a  great  quantity,  which, 
when  the  sap  is  boiled  to  a  proper  consistence,  they  run  into 
moulds  where  it  hardens.  But  the  Indians  prefer  making  it 
like  Muscovado  sugar,  this  is  done  simply  by  stirring  it  quickly 


276      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

about  with  a  small  paddle.  The  Plane  Tree  ^  also  makes  a 
good  sugar,  the  sap  is  abundant,  and  the  sugar  whiter,  but 
not  so  strong.  Both  sugars  have  a  taste,  which  soon  becomes 
agreeable,  and  as  fine  white  loaf  sugar  can  be  made  from  it 
as  from  that  of  the  West  Indies.  The  natives  would  make 
far  more  than  they  do,  if  they  could  find  a  Market. 

The  men  of  family  that  trade  at  this  House  are  about 
Sixty,  and  M'  Sayer,  who  has  been  in  the  Furr  Trade  many 
years,  is  of  opinion  that  seven  persons  to  a  family  is  about  a 
fair  average.  This  will  give  420  souls.  The  Natives  here  call 
themselves  "  Oochepoys  "  ^  and  for  some  few  years  have  begun 
to  give  something  like  a  right  of  property  to  each  family  on 
the  sugar  maple  groves,  and  which  right  continues  in  the 
family  to  the  exclusion  of  others.  But  as  this  appropriated 
space  is  small  in  comparison  of  the  whole  extent ;  any,  and 
every  person  is  free  to  make  sugar  on  the  vacant  grounds. 
The  appropriation  was  made  by  them  in  a  council,  in  order 
to  give  to  each  family  a  full  extent  of  ground  for  making 
sugar,  and  to  prevent  the  disputes  that  would  arise  where  all 
claim  an  equal  right  to  the  soil  and  it's  productions.  And  as 
in  the  making  of  sugar,  several  kettles  and  many  small  vessels 
of  wood  and  birch  rind  for  collecting  and  boiling  the  sap  are 
required,  which  are  not  wanted  for  any  other  purpose,  [they] 
are  thus  left  in  safety  on  their  own  grounds  for  future  use. 

Our  Canoe  being  in  very  bad  order  from  rough  usage 
among  the  ice  M""  Sayer  purchased  a  good  canoe  for  us  for 
the  value  of  twenty  beaver  skins  in  goods  and  our  Canoe.  It 
was  my  intention  to  have  gone  a  considerable  distance  down 
the  River,  but  M"  Sayer  strongly  advised  [me]  to  go  no 
further  than  to  Sand  Lake  River,  as  beyond  we  should  be  in 
the  power  of  the  Sieux  Indians.     On  the  third  day  of  May 

^  Thompson  evidently  refers  to  the  Ash-leaved  Maple,  Acer  negundo 
Linn.  This  tree  bears  considerable  resemblance  to  the  False  Plane, 
Acer  pseudo-platanus  Linn.,  the  "  Plane  Tree  "  of  Scotland.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Another  form  of  the  name  Ojibway. 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         277 

we  took  leave  of  our  kind  host ;  our  provisions  were  wild 
rice  and  maple  sugar,  with  powder  and  shot  for  ducks.  One 
mile  beyond  the  house  we  entered  the  River,  now  augmented 
to  twenty  six  yards  in  width  by  three  feet  in  depth,  at  two 
miles  an  hour.  The  valley  of  the  Mississippe  lay  now  clear 
before  me,  it's  direction  South  East ;  it's  appearance  was  that 
of  a  meadow  of  long  half  dried  grass  without  water  of  about 
half  a  mile  in  width,  or  less.  On  the  left  side  points  of  wood 
came  to  the  edge  of  this  valley,  but  not  into  it,  at  a  mile, 
or  a  mile  and  a  half  from  each  other,  the  intervals  were  bays 
of  hay  marsh.  On  the  right  hand  the  Hne  of  Woods  was 
more  regular ;  Being  well  experienced  in  taking  levels,  the 
Valley  of  the  River  before  us  showed  a  declining  plane  of  full 
twenty  p"^  mile  for  the  first  three  miles ;  this  would  give  a 
current  which  no  boat  could  ascend ;  but  this  was  com- 
pletely broken  down  by  the  innumerable  turnings  of  the 
River  to  every  point  of  the  compass.  Seeing  a  Pole  before 
us  at  less  than  five  hundred  yards  the  four  hands  in  the  canoe 
paddled  smartly  for  thirty  five  minutes  before  a  current  of 
2i  miles  an  hour  to  arrive  at  it,  in  which  time  we  estimated 
we  had  passed  over  about  three  miles  of  the  windings  of  the 
River.  Meeting  an  Indian  in  his  canoe  ascending  the  River, 
he  smoked  with  us,  and  on  my  remarking  to  him  the  crooked- 
ness of  the  River,  he  shook  his  head,  and  said  Snake  make  this 
River.  I  thought  otherwise,  for  these  windings  break  the 
current  and  make  it  navigable.  I  have  always  admired  the 
formations  of  the  Rivers,  as  directed  by  the  finger  of  God 
for  the  most  benevolent  purposes. 

At  7  PM  we  put  up  in  Lake  Winepegoos  ^  formed  by  the 
waters  of  this  River.  It's  length  is  seventeen  miles,  by  about 
six  miles  in  width,  the  principal  fish  is  Sturgeon.^  The  woods 
have  all  day  had  much  Fir,  both  red  and  black,  the  latter  very 
resinous  and  much   used  for  torches  for  night  fishing.     The 

^  At  present  known  as  Lake  Winnibigoshish. 
*  Acipenser  rubicundus  Le  Sueur.     [E.  A.  P.] 


278     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

soil  of  the  Woods  is  now  sandy  ;  with  Points  of  alluvial,  on 
which  are  Oaks  and  other  hard  woods,  and  the  bays  have 
White  Cedar,^  Birch  and  Larch.^  On  leaving  the  Lake  the 
valley  of  the  River  appeared  more  level. 

On  the  4*''  at  noon  put  ashore  to  observe  for  latitude  and 
shortly  after  the  River  passing  over  a  fine  bottom  of  gravel, 
I  found  the  River  to  be  26  yards  wide  2-i-  feet  deep  by 
2f  miles  an  hour.  Nine  miles  below  the  Leach  River  from 
Leach  Lake,  southwestward  of  us  comes  in,  its  size  appears 
equal  to  this  River,  which  it  deepens,  but  does  not  add  to 
it's  breadth.  For  this  day  the  valley  of  the  River  is  from 
half  to  one  mile  in  width,  on  each  side  well  wooded  with  fine 
Firs. 

May  5'**.  After  proceeding  two  miles  saw  the  first  leaves 
on  the  Willows ;  the  Maple  and  other  Trees  are  in  full  bud, 
but  have  no  leaves.  We  came  to  a  Rapid,  and  a  Fall  over  a 
smooth  Rock  of  eight  feet  descent  :  the  whole  is  thirteen  feet 
perpendicular,  with  a  Carrying  Place  of  263  yards.  Six  miles 
further  the  Meadow  River  from  the  north  eastward  joins, 
it's  size  and  water  equal  to  this,  the  Mississippe,  which  is 
now  fifty  to  sixty  yards  in  breadth.  We  met  a  Man  wounded 
in  the  shoulder,  in  a  quarrel  with  an  other  Man,  his  Wife  was 
paddling  the  Canoe  ;   it  appeared  jealousy  was  the  cause. 

On  the  6^^  May  we  continued  our  route  :  in  the  course  of 
the  day  we  met  an  Indian  and  his  Wife.  The  man  had  a  large 
fresh  scar  across  his  nose,  and  when  smoking  with  us,  asked  if 
he  was  not  still  handsome  ;  on  arriving  at  Sand  Lake  we 
learned  that  the  evening  before,  while  drinking,  another 
Indian  had  quarrelled  with  him,  and  in  a  fit  of  jealousy  had 
bit  off  his  nose  and  thrown  it  away,  but  in  the  morning  finding 
his  nose  was  missing,  he  searched  for,  and  found  it,  the  part 
that  remained  was  still  bleeding,  on  which  he  stuck  the  part 
bitten  off,  without   any  thing  to  keep  it ;    it  adhered,  and 

1  Thuja  occidentalis  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 
*  Larix  laricina  (Du  Roi).     [E.  A.  P.] 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE        279 

taking  a  looking  glass,  [he]  exclaimed,  "  as  yet  I  am  not  ugly." 
I  was  afterwards  informed,  the  cure  became  complete,  and 
only  the  scar  remained.  The  Swan  River  from  the  north 
eastward  fell  in  with  a  bold  stream  of  water.  In  the  after- 
noon at  5  PM  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sand  Lake 
River,  a  short  distance  above  which  I  measured  the  Mississippe 
River  ;  62  yards  in  width  ;  1 2  feet  in  depth  ;  at  4  yards  from 
the  shore  10  feet,  at  two  yards  8  feet  in  depth,  by  full  two 
miles  an  hour.  The  mouth  of  the  Sand  Lake  River  is  in 
Latitude  46 .  49 .  1 1  N  Longitude  93  .  45  .  7  W  and  from  the 
Red  Cedar  Lake  S  48  E  68  miles. 

As  the  Mississippe  is  the  most  magnificent  River,  and 
flows  through  the  finest  countries  of  North  America,  I  shall 
endeavour  to  explain  the  peculiar  formation  of  its  head 
waters.  From  the  Turtle  to  the  Red  Cedar  Lake,  the  passage 
was  too  much  obstructed  by  ice  to  allow  me  to  form  a  correct 
idea  of  it's  windings ;  but  from  the  latter  Lake  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Sand  Lake  River  there  was  no  ice ;  From  the  Red 
Cedar  Lake  to  the  latter  river  is  68  miles  direct  distance ;  to 
perform  which,  four  hands  in  a  light  Canoe  paddled  forty 
three  hours  and  thirteen  minutes.  Of  this  direct  distance 
ten  miles  were  Lake,  leaving  fifty  eight  miles  of  River ;  and 
allowing  three  hours  and  thirteen  minutes  for  passing  the 
Lake ;  forty  hours  remain.  Four  hands  in  a  light  Canoe 
before  a  current  of  two,  and  at  times  two  and  a  half  miles 
an  hour,  will  proceed,  at  least  five  miles  an  hour  ;  and  this 
rate  for  forty  hours  will  give  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles 
of  the  windings  of  the  river  for  fifty  eight  miles  in  a  direct 
line,  being  nearly  three  and  a  half  miles  to  one  mile.  Every 
mile  of  these  sinuosities  of  the  River,  the  current  turned  to 
every  point  of  the  compass,  and  it's  direct  velocity  was 
diminished,  yet  continuing  to  have  a  steady  current  measured 
at  two  full  miles  an  hour,  must  have  a  descent  of  full  twenty 
inches  p"  mile  to  maintain  this  current ;  which  in  two  hundred 
miles  gives  a  descent  or  change  of  level  in  this  distance  of 


280      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

333  feet  4  inches,  equal  to  a  change  of  level  of  3f  feet  for  each 
mile  in  a  direct  line. 

Thus  the  descent  from  the  Turtle  to  the  Red  Cedar  Lake 
is  97!^  feet,  and  from  this  Lake  to  the  Sand  Lake  River 
3333  f^^^  giving  a  change  of  level  of  431  feet,  apparently- 
through  a  low  country.  (Note.  Lieutenant  Lynch  of  the 
US  Navy  in  his  survey  of  the  River  Jordan  from  the  Sea  of 
Tiberias  to  the  Dead  Sea  says  the  difference  of  level  of  the 
two  seas  is  something  more  than  one  thousand  feet.  The 
distance  between  these  seas  in  the  direct  line  of  the  River 
is  sixty  miles,  but  the  windings  of  the  Jordan  increased  the 
distance  to  two  hundred  miles  which  gives  a  descent  of  five 
feet  to  a  mile.  They  descended  it  in  two  boats  in  safety, 
passing  over  twenty  seven  strong  rapids  and  many  lesser  to 
the  Dead  Sea). 

To  the  intelHgent  part  of  mankind,  the  scources  of  all  the 
great  rivers  have  always  been  subjects  of  curiosity ;  witness 
the  expeditions  undertaken ;  the  sums  of  money  expended, 
and  the  sufferings  endured  to  discover  the  sources  of  the  Nile, 
the  research  of  ages.  Whatever  the  Nile  has  been  in  ancient 
times  in  Arts  and  Arms,  the  noble  valley  of  the  Mississippe 
bids  fair  to  be,  and  excluding  its  pompous,  useless.  Pyramids 
and  other  works ;  it's  anglo  saxon  population  will  far  exceed 
the  Egyptians  in  all  the  arts  of  civiHzed  life,  and  in  a  pure 
religion.  Although  these  are  the  predictions  of  a  solitary 
traveller  unknown  to   the  world  they  will  surely  be  verified 

(1798)- 

The  course  and  length  of  the  River  Mississippe  from  it's 
scource  to  it's  discharge  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  Latitude 
29°  o'  North  Longitude  89  .  10  West  is  S  14  E  1344  Miles. 
This  great  River  including  the  Missisourie,  drains  an  extent 
of  981,034  square  geographical  miles.  In  common  average  of 
low  water  this  River  discharges  82,000  cubic  feet  of  water  in 
a  second  of  time ;  at  this  rate  it  anually  places  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  ly^Q^  cubic  miles  of  fresh  water ;    and  including 


SCOURGE   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPE         281 

freshets  and  steady  high  water  a  volume  equal  to  19 J  cubic 
miles. 

On  the  6'^  day  of  May  we  arrived  at  the  Sand  Lake 
River,  up  which  we  turn  and  bend  our  course  for  Lake 
Superior.  Since  we  left  the  Red  River  on  the  9*^  day  of 
April  we  have  not  seen  the  track  of  a  Deer,  or  the  vestige  of 
a  Beaver,  not  a  single  Aspin  marked  with  it's  teeth.  The 
Indians  we  met  all  appeared  very  poor  from  the  animals 
being  almost  wholly  destroyed  in  this  section  of  the  country ; 
their  provisions  were  of  wild  rice  and  sugar ;  we  did  not  see 
a  single  duck  in  their  canoes,  ammunition  being  too  scarce  ; 
nor  did  we  see  a  Bow  and  Arrows  with  them,  weapons 
which  are  in  constant  use  among  the  Nahathaways  for 
killing  all  kinds  of  fowl ;  they  were  bare  footed  and  poorly 
dressed. 

The  Sand  Lake  River  is  twenty  yards  wide,  by  five  feet  in 
depth,  at  one  and  a  half  miles  an  hour.  It's  length  two 
miles  to  the  Sand  Lake,  proceeding  more  than  half  a  mile 
we  came  to  a  trading  house  of  the  North  West  Company 
under  the  charge  of  Mons"^  Boiske.^  Here  were  the  Women 
and  children  of  about  twenty  families,  the  Men  were  all 
hunting  in  the  Plains  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippe  to 
make  half  dried  meat,  and  procure  skins  for  leather  of  the 
Bison  but  the  meat  thus  split  and  dried  is  very  coarsely 
done,  and  to  make  it  something  decent,  it  has  to  pass  through 
the  hands  of  the  Women.  These  people  can  only  dress  the 
hide  of  the  Bison  into  leather  ;  but  have  not  the  art  of  dressing 
it  with  the  hair  on,  to  make  Robes  of  it,  so  usefull  for  cloath- 
ing  and  bedding.  As  the  Men  were  hunting  on  what  is 
called  the  War  Grounds,  that  is,  the  debatable  lands  between 
them  and  the  Sieux  Indians,  the  Women  were  anxiously 
waiting  their  arrival.     The  night   being  fine,  as  usual  I  was 

1  Doubtless  the  same  as  Charles  Bousquet  or  Bousquai,  who  is  men- 
tioned by  Coues  as  having  been  in  the  Fond  du  Lac  department  about  this 
time.     Elsewhere  Thompson  speaks  of  him  as  "  Mons.  Buskay." 


282      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

observing  for  the  Latitude  and  Longitude  of  the  place ;  in 
the  morning  an  aged  Man,  no  longer  able  to  hunt  came  to 
me,  and  said,  I  come  on  the  part  of  the  Women,  for  they 
want  to  know  where  the  Men  are,  are  they  loaded  with  meat, 
and  when  will  they  arrive  ;  I  requested  Mons"  Boiske  to  tell 
him,  that  I  knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  and  saw  only  the 
Moon  and  Stars.  But  he  took  his  own  view  of  the  question ; 
and  told  him  to  tell  the  Women  ;  the  Men  are  safe,  they 
will  be  here  tomorrow,  each  has  a  load  of  Meat,  but  it  is 
poor,  there  is  no  fat  on  it ;  and  they  must  not  get  drunk 
again  until  the  Bisons  are  fat  (August),  and  who  ever  bites 
off  another  man's  nose,  would  be  killed  by  the  Sieux  in  the 
first  battle.  Umph,  said  the  old  man,  while  we  can  get  fire 
water  we  will  drink  it.  The  Women  were  pleased,  and  said 
all  the  Men  were  fools  that  drank  fire  water.  He  informed 
me  the  Women  in  general  kept  themselves  sober,  and  when 
the  men  were  about  to  drink  they  hid  all  the  Arms,  and 
Knives  and  left  them  nothing  but  their  teeth  and  fists  to 
fight  with.  This  gentleman,  was  of  the  same  opinion  with 
the  other  Traders,  that  ardent  spirits  was  a  curse  to  the 
Natives,  it  not  only  occasioned  quarrels,  but  also  revived  old 
animosities,  that  had  been  forgotten.  It  kept  the  Indians 
poor  and  was  of  no  use  as  an  article  of  trade. 

He  showed  me  his  winter  hunt,  in  value  fifty  beaver 
skins.  The  Minks  ^  and  Martens^  were  inferior,  the  Lynxes* 
appeared  good,  but  the  furr  [was]  not  so  long  as  in  the  north. 
But  the  Fishers*  were  uncommonly  large,  the  color  a  rich 
glossy  black  brown,  and  the  furr  fine  :  The  Beaver's  were 
mostly  fall  and  spring  skins,  and  as  each  were  good  in  color 
and  furr,  but  not  a  single  Fox,  or  Wolf.  These  animals  are 
almost  unknown,  there  is  nothing  for  them  to  live  on.     All 

*  Lutreola  v.  letifera  (HoUister).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Mattes  americana  (Turton).     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Lynx  canadensis  Kerr.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Maries  pennanti  (Erxleben).     [E.  A.  P.] 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         283 

his  furrs  came  from  the  Forests  between  the  Mississippe  and 
Lake  Superior. 

He  had  traded  i6  Cwt  of  Maple  Sugar  from  the  Natives ; 
this  was  packed  in  baskets  of  birch  rind  of  28  to  68  lbs  each. 
The  Sugar  appeared  clean  and  well  made  ;  that  of  the  Plane 
Trees,  looked  like  the  East  India  Sugars,  and  [was]  much  the 
same  in  taste  :  In  this  article  I  have  always  noticed  the  supply- 
is  greater  than  the  demand.  The  Men  of  family  that  trade 
here  are  about  forty  two,  which  at  seven  souls  to  each  man, 
is  294. 

We  had  now  to  cross  the  country  to  gain  the  River  S' 
Louis,  and  by  it  descend  to  Lake  Superior.  Our  Provisions 
were  four  pieces  of  dried  bison  meat ;  four  beaver  tails  and 
two  quarts  of  swamp  cranberries,^  they  were  the  largest  I  had 
ever  seen,  being  about  the  size  of  a  small  hazel  nut. 

This  trading  house  is  in  Latitude  46  .  46  .  30  N  Longitude 
93  .  44 .  17  West  Variation  6  degrees  East. 

On  the  y'*"  May  went  over  the  Sand  Lake  of  four  miles 
in  length,  by  about  one  mile  in  width  to  Savannah  Brook, 
up  which  we  proceeded  eight  geo.  miles  of  which  i^  mile  is 
a  large  Pond,  but  the  windings  lengthen  the  Brook  to  thirteen 
miles,  to  a  great  Swamp  of  4-i-  miles  across  it  in  a  N  81  E 
direction,  the  latter  part  of  what  may  be  termed  bog ;  over 
which  we  passed  by  means  of  a  few  sticks  laid  lengthways, 
and  when  we  shpped  off  we  sunk  to  our  waists,  and  with 
difficulty  regained  our  footing  on  the  sticks.  No  Woods  grow 
on  this  great  Swamp,  except  scattered  pine  shrubs  of  a  few 
feet  in  height ;  yet  such  as  it  was,  we  had  to  carry  our  Canoe 
and  all  our  things.  And  all  the  furrs,  provisions,  baggage 
and  Canoes  of  the  Mississippe  have  to  be  carried  on  their 
way  to  the  Depot  on  Lake  Superior,  and  likewise  all  the 
goods  for  the  winter  trade.  It  is  a  sad  piece  of  work.  The 
Person  in  charge  of  the  brigade ;  crosses  it  as  fast  as  he  can, 
leaves  the  Men  to  take  their  own  time,  who  flounce  along 
^  Oxycoccus  macrocarpus  (Ait.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


284      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

with  the  packs  of  furrs,  or  pieces  of  goods,  and  "  sacre  "  as 
often  as  they  please.  Heavy  Canoes  cannot  be  carried  over 
but  at  great  risque  both  to  the  Men  and  Canoes,  and  the 
Company  have  Canoes  at  each  end.  This  great  Swamp, 
extended  as  far  as  we  could  see  northward  and  southward, 
and  I  could  not  learn  it's  termination  either  way.  It  appears 
to  be  somewhat  like  a  height  of  land  between  the  Mississippe 
and  the  River  S'  Louis,  as  from  it's  west  side  it  sends  a  brook 
into  the  former ;  and  from  it's  east  side  a  brook  into  the 
latter. 

With  an  extra  Man  to  help  us,  it  took  us  a  long  day  to  get  all 
across  it.  At  the  east  end  I  observed  for  Latitude  and  Longitude 
which  gave  [Latitude]  46 .  52  .  3  N  Longitude  92  .  28  .  42  W 
Variation  6  degrees  east.  We  now  entered  a  Brook  of  seven 
feet  wide,  three  feet  deep,  by  two  miles  an  hour,  and  descended 
it  for  twelve  miles,  but  it's  windings  will  extend  it  to  twenty 
miles,  in  which  distance  it  receives  one  brook  from  the  south- 
ward, and  two  from  the  northward,  which  increased  it  to 
ten  yards  wide,  seven  feet  deep  by  if  miles  an  hour.  We 
now  entered  the  River  S'  Louis,  a  bold  stream  of  about  one 
hundred  yards  in  width  by  eight  feet  in  depth,  the  current 
three  miles  an  hour.  Having  descended  the  River  4^  Miles 
we  put  up  at  7f  pm.  We  have  been  all  day  in  the  Forests 
that  surrounded  Lake  Superior.  The  Brook  of  today  has 
many  wind  fallen  trees  across  it,  which  we  had  to  cut  away. 
In  several  places  we  saw  the  marks  of  beaver  for  the  first 
time.  On  examining  a  Swan  ^  we  shot,  it  had  thirteen  eggs, 
from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  that  of  a  walnut,  yet  I  do  not 
remember  ever  seeing  more  than  nine  young  ones  with  them. 
The  Woods  we  have  passed  are  a  few  Oaks  of  moderate  size, 
some  Ash,  but  the  principal  part  Maple,  Plane,"  White  Birch, 
Poplar  and  Aspin ;  on  the  low  grounds.  Pine  and  Larch. 
Hitherto  the  width,  depth  and  rate  of  current  of  the  Brooks 

'  Olor  buccinator  (Richardson).     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Ash-leaved  Maple,  Acer  negundo  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         285 

and  Rivers  are  those  of  high  water  from  the  melting  of  the 
snow.  But  as  all  of  them,  even  the  Red  River,  depend  on 
the  Snow  and  Rains  for  their  supply  of  water  ;  in  the  months 
of  August,  September  and  October  they  are  all  shoal.  The 
Men  who  have  navigated  these  streams  for  several  years  are 
now  with  me,  and  they  assure  me  that  this  river  (S'  Louis) 
bold  and  deep  as  it  now  is,  in  the  above  months  has  only 
eighteen  inches  of  depth,  running  among  stones  which  they 
are  often  obliged  to  turn  aside  to  make  a  passage  for  their 
canoes.  In  the  night  we  heard  a  Beaver  playing  about  us, 
flapping  his  broad  tail  on  the  water,  with  a  noise  as  loud  as 
the  report  of  a  small  pistol,  which  was  a  novelty  to  us. 

Upon  descending  the  first  rapids,  and  proceeding  down- 
wards, the  Men  were  surprised  to  find  the  marks  on  the  trees, 
to  which  they  were  accustomed  to  tie  the  Canoes  at  their 
meals,  to  be  from  six  to  eight  feet  above  the  present  level  of 
the  River  This  may  be  accounted  for,  by  our  being  on  this 
river  about  a  month  more  early  than  usual,  and  the  sharp 
night  frosts  preventing  the  melting  of  the  snow  on  the 
heights  and  interiour  of  Lake  Superior.  This  River  has  many 
rapids,  on  one  of  which  the  waves  filled  the  Canoe  half  full  of 
water  ;  These  were  succeeded  by  a  Cataract  of  small  low 
steeps  of  a  full  mile  in  length  round  a  point  of  rock,  across 
which  we  made  a  carrying  place  of  1576  yards.  Four  miles 
further,  of  almost  all  rapids ;  we  came  to  the  Long  Carrying 
Place  of  seven  miles  in  length.  On  our  left  the  River  descends 
the  lower  heights  by  a  series  of  low  falls,  ending  with  a  steep 
fall,  estimated  at  120  feet  in  height,  below  which  the  River 
flows  with  a  moderate  current  into  Lake  Superior. 

The  surface  rock  of  the  country  is  a  slaty  sand  stone,  very 
good  for  sharpening  knives  and  axes.  Near  the  mouth  of  the 
River  is  a  Trading  House  of  the  North  West  Company  under 
the  charge  of  Mons""  Lemoine  ;  his  returns  were  600  lbs  of 
Furrs  with  the  expectation  of  trading  400  lbs  more  9  kegs 
of  gum  from  the  Pine  Trees  for  the  Canoes  and   12   Kegs, 


286      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

each  of  ten  gallons,  of  Sugar.  This  House  is  in  Latitude 
46 .  44 .  33  N  Longitude  92  .  9  .  45  W  Variation  4-i-  degrees  East. 
I  have  only  set  down  my  observations  made  at  certain  places, 
but  they  are  numerous  all  over  the  survey,  as  every  clear  day 
and  night,  no  opportunity  was  ommitted  of  taking  observa- 
tions for  Latitude,  Longitude  and  Variation  to  correct  the 
courses  and  distances  of  the  survey.  The  Canoes  that  descend 
the  River  to  the  upper  end  of  the  Long  Carrying  Place,  are 
carefully  laid  up,  and  there  left,  in  like  manner  the  Canoes 
that  come  from  the  Lake  are  left  at  the  lower  end.  We 
found  three  large  Canoes,  and  a  north  Canoe  of  28  feet  in 
length,  much  broken.  This  was  too  large  for  us,  but  we  had 
no  choice,  we  repaired  it,  and  as  we  had  only  three  men  fitted 
it  up  with  two  oars,  which  have  the  force  of  four  paddles,  as 
we  had  now  to  encounter  the  Winds  and  waves  of  Lake 
Superior. 

The  Natives  that  trade  at  this  House  are  about  thirty 
Men  of  family,  and  are  about  210  souls.  In  Winter,  from  the 
poverty  of  the  country  they  can  barely  live,  and  a  small 
stock  of  sugar  is  part  of  their  support.  Deer^  are  almost  un- 
known, and  they  are  suppHed  with  leather,  as  with  other 
necessaries.  In  the  open  season  their  support  is  by  fishing, 
for  which  the  spear  is  much  in  use.  Their  canoes  are  about 
fifteen  feet  in  length  by  three  feet  in  breadth,  and  flat 
bottomed ;  With  a  Woman  or  a  Lad  to  paddle  and  steer  the 
canoe,  the  Indian  with  his  long  spear,  stands  on  the  gunwales 
at  the  bar  behind  the  bow,  and  ticklish  as  the  canoe  is,  and 
the  Lake  almost  always  somewhat  agitated,  he  preserves  his 
upright  posture,  as  [if]  standing  on  a  rock.  On  the  Lake, 
especially  in  the  fore  part  of  the  day,  a  low  fog  [rises]  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  caused  by  the  coldness  of  the  water 
and  the  higher  temperature  of  the  air ;  which  hides  the 
Canoe ;    and  only  the   Indian    Man,  with   his    poised    spear 

^  Odocoileus  v.  borealis  (Miller).     [E,  A,  P.] 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         287 

ready  to  strike  is  seen,  like  a  ghost  gliding  slowly  over  the 
water. 

I  haye  sometimes  amused  myself  for  twenty  minutes  with 
the  various  appearances  this  low  fog  gives  to  these  fishermen. 
As  the  elevation  of  the  Scource  of  the  Mississippe  is  a  subject 
of  curiousity  to  all  intelligent  men,  especially  to  those  of  the 
United  States,  to  whom  this  noble  River  belongs,  I  shall 
continue  my  estimated  calculations  to  determine  its  level 
above  that  of  the  Sea  in  the  gulph  of  Mexico. 

From  the  Mississippe  River  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sand 
Lake  River ;  by  this  River  and  the  Savannah  Brook  there  is 
an  ascent  of  l6  ft  3  Inches  to  the  great  Morass,  which  may  be 
taken  as  level.  From  the  east  side  of  this  Morass  a  Brook 
descends  to  the  River  S'  Louis,  by  it's  windings  of  twenty 
miles,  at  12  Inches  p"^  mile  is  20  feet,  giving  to  the  Mississippe 
an  elevation  of  3  feet  9  inches  above  this  part  of  the  River 
S*  Louis.  The  descent  of  this  River  to  Lake  Superior  is 
34  miles  of  strong  current  at  20  inches  p""  mile,  gives  56  feet 
8  inches.  11  miles  of  strong  Rapids  at  5  feet  p"^  mile,  equal 
to  55  feet  of  descent.  One  full  mile  of  low  Falls  having  a 
Carrying  Place  ;  and  a  descent  of  twenty  feet.  One  Carry- 
ing Place  of  7  miles ;  the  Falls  20  feet  p""  mile  equal  to 
140  feet  to  which  add  the  last  fall  of  120  feet  in  height  equal 
to  260  feet. 

Then  21  miles  of  current  at  15  inches  p""  mile  equal  to 
26  feet  3  inches,  giving  to  the  above  part  of  the  River  S* 
Louis  a  descent  of  417  feet  11  inches  to  Lake  Superior.  This 
Lake,  by  the  levels  taken  to  it's  east  end  is  625  feet  above  the 
tide  waters  of  the  S'  Lawrence  River,  Hence  we  have  from 
the  Sea  to  Lake  Superior  an  ascent  of  levels  of  625  feet ; 
The  ascent  to  the  Morass  Brook,  of  the  River  S'  Louis  418 
feet ;  and  difference  of  level  of  the  Mississippe  3  feet  9  Inches, 
giving  a  total  of  1046  feet  9  inches  of  this  last  River  above 
the  level  of  the  Sea,  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Sand  Lake  River ; 
and  from  hence  to  the  Turtle  Lake,  by  the  calculation  already 


288      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

made  431  feet  ;  equal  to  1478  feet ;  ^  the  elevation  of  the 
Turtle  Lake,  the  scource  of  the  Mississippe,  above  the  Sea. 

It  is  tedious  to  the  reader  to  attend  to  these  calculations 
and  yet  to  the  enquiring  mind  they  are  necessary  that  he  may 
know  the  ground  on  which  they  are  based.  For  the  age  of 
guessing  is  passed  away,  and  the  traveller  is  expected  to  give 
his  reasons  for  what  he  asserts.  To  take  the  levels  of  several 
hundred  miles  of  Rivers  is  too  expensive,  unless  there  is  some 
great  object  in  view,  and  all  that  the  pubHc  can  expect,  or 
obtain,  in  these  almost  unknown  countries,  are  the  estimates 
of  experienced  men. 

On  Lake  Superior  a  Volume  could  be  written  ;  I  have 
been  twice  round  it,  and  six  times  over  a  great  part,  each 
survey  correcting  the  preceding.  The  last  survey  of  this  Lake 
was  under  the  orders  of  the  Foreign  Office  for  to  determine, 
and  settle  the  Boundary  Line,  between  the  Dominions  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  Territories  of  the  United  States.  The 
Courses  were  taken  by  the  Compass,  and  the  Distances  by 
Massey's  Patent  Log,  the  latter  so  exact,  as  to  require  very 
little  correction.  The  many  astronomical  observations  made 
have  settled  the  exact  place  of  the  Shores  of  this  great  Lake  : 
the  Maps  of  which,  with  the  Boundary  Line  are  in  the  Foreign 
Office  in  London  ;  and  also  in  the  Office  of  the  United  States 
at  Washington,  and  are  not  published.^  The  River  St  Louis 
flows  into  it's  west  end  ;  and  the  discharge  of  the  Lake  is  at 
it's  south  east  corner,  by  the  Falls  of  S*  Maries,  which  are  in 
Latitude  46  .  31  .  16  North  Longitude  84 .  13  .  54  W.  giving  the 
straight  course  and  distance,  S  89  E  383  Miles,  it's  breadth 
increases  from  the  west  to  the  east  end,  to  176  miles.  It 
has  two  great  bays  on  it's  east  side,  across  which  are  many 
Islands.     The  shores  of  the  south  side  are  671    miles,   and 

1  The  best  information  available  indicates  that  Thompson  was  only 
56  feet  in  error.     [James  White.] 

^  These  maps  have  since  been  published  in  J.  B.  Moore,  History  and 
Digest  of  International  Arbitraiions,  Washington,  1895. 


SCOURGE    OF   THE    MISSISSIPPE         289 

those  of  the  north  and  east  sides  946  miles,  being  a  circuit 
of  161 7  miles  It's  area  is  about  28,090  square  miles.  It's 
level  above  the  Sea  is  625  feet.^  It's  depth  is  as  yet  unknown, 
even  near  the  shores  of  Pye  Island  and  the  head  land  Thunder 
Bay  ;  it  has  been  sounded  with  350  fathoms  of  Line,  and  no 
bottom  [found]  and  this  by  men  experienced  in  taking  sound- 
ings. Supposing  it's  greatest  depth  to  be  only  400  fathoms 
equal  to  2400  feet,  it's  bottom  is  1775  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  Ocean." 

Taking  it's  area  at  28,090  square  miles  and  its  average 
depth  at  200  fathoms,  this  Lake  contains  5930  cubic  miles  of 
fresh  water.  All  summer  the  water  tastes  very  cold,  and  in 
winter  only  the  bays,  and  around  the  Islands  are  frozen, 
which  the  waves  of  the  frequent  gales  of  wind  break  up, 
and  cause  much  floating  ice.  In  easterly  or  westerly  gales 
of  wind  the  roll  of  it's  waves  are  like  those  of  the  sea .  When 
surveying  this  Lake  in  the  year  1822  on  the  north  side  about 
fifty  miles  eastward  of  S'  Louis  River,  about  i  pm  we  put 
ashore  to  dine,  the  day  clear  and  fine  and  the  Lake  perfectly 
calm  :  as  we  were  sitting  on  the  Rocks,  about  a  full  mile 
from  us  direct  out  in  the  Lake  suddenly  there  arose  an 
ebullition  of  the  water  ;  its  appearance  was  that  of  a  body 
of  water  thrown  up  from  some  depth.  It  was  about  thirty 
yards  in  length  by  four  feet  in  height,  it's  breadth  we  could 
not  see,  from  within  this  the  water  was  thrown  up  about 
ten  feet  in  very  small  columns  as  seen  through  our  glasses. 
To  the  eye  it  appeared  like  heavy  rain  ;  the  Lake  became 
agitated,  the  waves  rolled  on  the  shore  ;  and  we  had  to  secure 
the  Canoes,  this  lasted  for  about  half  an  hour.  I  took  a 
sketch  of  it  ;  when  it  subsided,  the  waves  still  continued  ; 
and  we  were  for  three  hours  unable  to  proceed.  During  this 
time  and  the  whole  day  the  wind  was  calm.  On  the  western 
part  of  the  south  shore,  the  rock  is  mostly  of  Sandstone  as 

1  Its  elevation  is  602  feet. 

^  Its  maximum  depth  is  1,000  feet,  nearly  400  feet  below  mean  sea-level. 

T 


290     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

are  also  the  Islands ;  some  of  the  cliffs  are  much  worn  by  the 
waves,  and  have  heaps  of  debris  :  the  Islands  are  in  the 
same  state.  One  of  them  is  worn  through,  and  in  calm 
weather  a  canoe  and  men  can  pass  with  the  arch  three  feet 
above  their  heads. 

Along  the  shore,  proceeding  eastward  the  limestone 
appears  and  continues  and  seems  everywhere  to  underlay  the 
sandstone.  Everywhere  the  land  rises  boldly  from  the  Lake 
shore,  and  at  the  distance  of  about  fifteen  miles  are  crowned 
by  the  Porcupine  hills,  lying  parallel  to  the  Lake  and  the 
elevation  of  the  land  appears  to  be  full  2500  feet  above  the 
Lake  ;  the  whole  has  the  appearance  of  a  continuous  Forest, 
and  so  far  as  the  eye  can  judge  may  be  cultivated.  The  north 
and  east  sides  of  this  Lake  are  very  different  from  the  south 
side ;  they  rise  abruptly  in  rude  rounded  shaped  rock  rolhng 
back  to  the  height  of  850  to  2000  feet  above  the  Lake ;  at  a 
distance  they  appear  to  be  one  Forest  but  a  nearer  approach 
shows  many  a  place  of  bare  rock.  The  whole  extent  of  the 
946  miles  of  this  coast  is  of  the  granitic  order,  in  all  the 
varieties  that  quartz,  feltspar  and  mica  can  form  with  the 
materials  and  offers  a  fine  field  for  the  geologist  and  mineralo- 
gist ;  but  in  all  this  distance  were  ten  Farmers  to  search  for 
a  place  where  each  could  have  a  lot  of  200  acres  of  good  land 
along  side  of  each  other  I  do  not  think  they  would  find  it. 
In  the  north  east  corner  of  the  Lake  there  is  much  Basalt, 
the  only  place  in  which  I  have  seen  this  mineral  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Mountains.  In  this  corner  is  Thunder  Bay,  so 
named  by  the  Natives  from  it's  frequent  occurrence.  Off  the 
west  point  is  Pye  Island,  so  named  from  it's  shape,  it  is  of 
Basalt,  part  of  this  Island  has  perpendicular  sides  of  at  least 
100  feet  in  height  ;  close  to  which,  the  Lake  has  been  sounded 
with  350  fathoms  of  lead  line  and  no  bottom  [found]  ;  We 
may  conclude  the  depth  of  the  Lake  to  be  here  400  fathoms, 
which  will  give  the  Basalt  walls  of  the  Island  2500  feet  in 
height.     The  east  end  of  the  Bay  is  Thunder  Point,  rising 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         291 

1 1 20  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  which  has  been 
several  times  sounded  without  finding  the  bottom  ;  giving 
to  the  Lake  the  same  depth  as  at  Pye  Island.  This  Basalt 
Point  has  a  height  of  3520  feet ;  Great  part  of  it  is  finely 
fluted,  and  the  edges  of  their  concaves  fine  and  sharp  ;  and 
the  waves  of  the  Lake  seem  to  have  no  effect  on  it,  though 
exposed  to  all  their  force,  indeed  the  Basalt  walls  of  both 
places  appear  as  fresh  and  firm  as  if  Providence  had  placed 
them  there  only  a  few  years  ago.  From  the  west  end  of  the 
Lake  by  the  north  and  east  sides  to  the  Falls  of  S*  Maries  are 
thirty  one  Rivers,  of  which  the  S'  Louis  the  Mishipacoton  and 
the  Neepego,  are  about  1 50  yards  in  width  ;  the  others  from 
thirty  to  sixty  yards  wide,  and  twenty  eight  Brooks.  On  the 
south  side  there  are  forty  Rivers  two  of  these  150  yards  in 
width  the  others  from  twenty  to  seventy  yards,  and  forty 
one  Brooks.  All  of  these  Rivers  and  Brooks  are  fed  by  the 
Rain  and  snow,  and  by  the  evaporation  from  this  great  Lake 
which  rests  upon  the  surrounding  high  Lands,  and  is  not 
wafted  beyond  them.  From  the  heights  of  these  lands  all 
the  above  Streams  rush  down  in  a  series  of  Rapids  and  Falls, 
with  some  intervals  of  moderate  current,  as  they  pass  over  a 
table  land.  On  the  south  side  the  River  Ontonoggan  (the 
native  name)  has  from  old  times  been  noted  for  the  pieces 
of  pure  copper  found  there,  of  which  the  Indians  made  their 
weapons  before  the  arrival  of  the  French  ;  and  afterwards 
for  the  services  of  the  Churches. 

Learning  from  my  Men  that  a  short  distance  up  the  River 
there  was  a  large  Mass  of  Copper,  we  left  our  canoe  and  pro- 
ceeded on  foot  to  it ;  we  found  it  lying  on  a  beach  of  lime- 
stone at  the  foot  of  a  high  craig  of  the  same  ;  it's  shape  round, 
the  upper  part  a  low  convex,  all  worn  quite  smooth  by  the 
attrition  of  water  and  ice,  but  now  lying  dry.  We  tried  to 
cut  a  chip  from  it,  but  it  was  too  tough  for  our  small  axe. 
(Note.  This  mass  of  pure  copper  has  since  been  taken  to 
Washington   at   the   expense   of   5000   dollars,   and  found   to 


292      DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

weigh  3000  lbs  by  information.)  ^  At  the  extremity  of  the  great 
Point  called  by  the  Natives  Keewewoonanoo  (We  return) 
now  shortened  to  Keewenow,  in  a  small  harbour  we  took 
pieces  of  copper  ore.  I  named  it  Copperass  harbour.  Both 
at  this  place,  at  the  above  River  and  a  few  other  places  I 
learn  the  people  of  the  United  States  for  these  three  years 
(1848)  have  worked  the  Copper  Mines  with  considerable 
profit ;   and  have  also  found  much  silver. 

It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  of  the  vast  quantity  of  alluvial 
of  all  kinds  brought  down  by  seventy  one  Rivers  and  sixty 
nine  Brooks  rushing  down  these  high  lands,  that  surround 
the  Lake,  the  accumulation  of  centuries  must  be  very  great 
yet  such  is  the  depth  of  the  Lake,  not  a  single  River  shows  a 
point  of  alluvial  worth  notice.  (Note.  In  the  Province  of 
Auvergne  in  France,  there  appears  to  have  been  a  Lake  of 
the  size  of  Lake  Superior,  the  barriers  of  which  appear  to  have 
been  broken  down  by  an  earthquake,  and  the  Lake  emptied. 
One  aUuvial  from  a  River  destroyed  at  the  same  time,  was 
computed  to  be  nine  hundred  feet  in  height  from  the  bottom 
of  the  Lake.  This  catastrophe  must  have  happened  previous 
to  the  time  of  Julius  Caser,  for  had  it  happened  in  his  time, 
or  since,  the  Roman  historians  would  have  noticed  such  an 
event.     Saussave.) 

The  northern  part  of  North  America  is  noted  for  it's 
numerous  and  large  Lakes  far  more  than  [any]  other  part  of 
the  world.  The  Great  Architect  said  "  Let  them  be,  and 
they  were  "  but  he  has  given  to  his  creature  the  power  to 

1  This  mass  of  copper,  stated  on  the  label  to  weigh  about  three  tons,  is 
still  in  the  U.S.  National  Museum  at  Washington,  D.C.  It  was  observed 
by  Alexander  Henry  the  elder  in  1 766,  and  had  then  long  been  known  to 
the  Indians.  In  1841  Julius  Eldred,  having  purchased  it  from  the 
Chippewa,  took  it  to  Detroit,  where  it  was  exhibited.  In  1843  it  was 
claimed  by  the  Gkjvemment  and  taken  to  Washington.  It  remained  in 
charge  of  the  War  Department  until  i860,  when  it  was  transferred  to 
the  Smithsonian  Institution.  By  an  Act  of  Congress,  Eldred  was  awarded 
the  sum  of  $5,664.98  to  reimburse  him  for  his  expenses  in  connection 
with  it.     [E.  A.  P.] 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         293 

examine  his  works  on  our  globe  ;  and  perhaps  learn  the  order 
in  which  he  has  placed  them.  If  we  examine  the  positions 
of  all  these  Lakes,  their  greatest  lengths  will  be  found  to  be 
about  between  North  and  thirty  degrees  west,  and  South 
and  thirty  degrees  east,  which  are  the  Hnes  of  direction  of 
the  east  side  of  the  Great  Plains,  and  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  : 
the  anomaHes  to  this  order  are  Lakes  Michigan,  Superior  and 
Athabasca.  The  west  sides  of  the  Lakes  are  of  Limestone 
and  the  east  sides  of  Granite.  Between  these  two  forma- 
tions are  the  great  wide  chasms,  or  valleys  filled  with  water, 
which  are  the  Lakes.  And  the  three  above  Lakes,  although 
lying  west  and  east,  have  their  south  sides  of  Limestone  and 
their  north  sides  of  the  granitic  order,  and  their  deep  waters 
in  their  same  kind  of  valley.  The  few  Lakes  that  lie  as  it 
were  within  the  east  side  of  the  Great  Plains,  as  Cumberland 
and  the  Cedar  Lakes  are  wholly  within  the  Limestone  forma- 
tion, and  are  comparatively  shoal  water  Lakes. 

Having  settled  by  observations  the  Latitude  and  Longi- 
tude of  the  trading  house  of  S'  Louis's  River  at  the  west  end 
of  Lake  Superior ;  on  the  1 2^^  of  May  we  proceeded  to 
survey  the  south  side  of  the  Lake.  In  the  afternoon  we  came 
to  four  Lodges  of  Chipaways.  They  had  just  arrived  from  the 
interior,  having  wintered  at  the  west  end  of  the  Porcupine 
HiUs  and  now  pass  the  summer  on  the  borders  of  the  Lake  to 
maintain  themselves  by  fishing.  They  are  about  28  families, 
and  by  the  usual  rule  of  seven  souls  to  a  family  their  number 
is  196  persons.  My  Men  thought,  for  the  number  of  Men, 
there  were  more  old  Women  than  usual.  Although  the 
interior  rises  high,  yet  near  the  Lake  the  shores  are  low, 
with  many  fine  sandy  beaches,  for  setting  of  nets  for  fishing  ; 
yet  the  Natives  make  no  use  of  them,  although  they  see  the 
success  of  the  white  men  :  If  a  net  is  given  to  them,  they  are 
too  indolent  to  take  care  of  it,  and  it  soon  becomes  useless. 
They  prefer  the  precarious  mode  of  spearing  fish,  which  is 
practi[ca]ble  only  in  calm,  or  very  moderate  weather.     The 


294      DAVID    THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

woods  seen  from  the  Lake  were  of  white  and  red  Birch,^ 
Spruce  Pines,"  Larch  and  Aspins,  all  of  small  growth. 

The  next  day  we  passed  an  Island  of  Sand  Stone  which 
the  Waves  had  worn  into  rude  arches,  with  many  caves.  The 
next  day  we  came  to  three  Lodges  containing  fifteen  families, 
being  105  souls.  An  American  of  the  States  was  living  with 
them,  and  had  adopted  their  way  of  life  in  preference  to  hard 
labor  on  a  farm.  In  the  afternoon  we  passed  Mons''  Michel 
Cadotte  ^  with  five  men  and  several  Lodges  of  the  natives  from 
their  winter  quarters,  now  to  live  by  fishing. 

The  night  and  morning  of  the  15'*"  May  was  a  severe 
frost.  The  Land  all  day  very  high  and  bold  shores.  Having 
gone  eleven  miles  we  came  to  the  Montreal  River  of  25  yards 
in  width,  between  banks  of  rock  ;  near  the  Lake  is  a  Fall  of 
30  feet  in  height.  The  course  of  this  River  is  through  the 
Porcupine  Hills  the  lower  parts  of  which  are  now  the  coasts 
of  the  Lake  ;  Two  of  my  Men  had  wintered  near  the  head  of 
this  River.  As  the  whole  length  of  the  River  is  a  series  of 
Falls  between  steep  banks  of  rock  the  distance  from  the  Lake 
to  the  House  was  one  continued  Carrying  Place  of  130  rests. 
(A  Rest,  or  Pose,  is  the  distance  the  cargo  of  the  canoe  is 
carried  from  place  to  place  and  then  rest.)  In  this  hilly  country 
a  Rest  may  be  from  five  to  six  hundred  yards,  and  the 
130  rests  about  forty  miles.  The  men  say  the  distance  takes 
them  thirty  seven  days  of  carrying  to  the  House.  All  the 
trading  Houses  on  the  south  side  of  the  Lake  require  many 
miles  of  carrying,  with  some  intervals  of  current  to  take  the 
cargo  of  the  canoe  to  the  wintering  ground.  The  Men  who 
winter  and  have  to  traverse  the  country  in  every  direction, 
say  the  Lakes  are  few  and  small,  more  like  beaver  ponds  than 
Lakes  ;   and  that  in  very  many  places  sandstone  for  sharpening 

'  Betula   papyri/era   Marsh,   and    probably   the  Yellow    Birch,    Betula 

lutea  Michx.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Probably  White  Spruce,  Picea  canadensis  (Mill.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  This  was  a  brother  of  Baptiste  Cadotte,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 

trading  post  on  Red  Lake  river  mentioned  on  p.  252. 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         295 

knives  and  axes  are  to  be  found.  We  came  to  a  lodge  of  five 
families,  they  had  seen  no  person  for  eight  Moons,  and  had 
all  their  winters  hunt  with  them,  of  about  360  pounds  of 
furrs.     Further  on  was  a  lodge  of  ten  families. 

Early  on  the  17"*  May  we  came  to  the  Fair  River  at  the 
east  end  of  the  Porcupine  Hills.  The  interior  country  has 
now  lower  land.  The  Woods  hitherto  have  much  white 
Cedar,^  with  Birch,  Aspin  and  Pine,  with  a  few  Maple  ^  and 
Plane  Trees, ^  all  of  very  common  growth.  An  extensive  body 
of  ice  lying  before  us,  we  had  to  put  ashore  and  pass  the 
day.  We  set  a  net  but  caught  only  six  Carp.*  The  wind 
having  drifted  the  ice  from  the  shore,  early  on  the  18'''  we 
set  oif  and  soon  came  to  the  Ontonoggan  River,  where  lay 
the  great  mass  of  Copper  I  have  already  mentioned.  Here 
was  a  M'  Cadotte  with  four  Lodges  of  Indians,  he  informed 
us  that  last  summer  (1797)  a  party  of  Americans  had  visited 
the  River  and  proceeded  twenty  miles  up  it  to  the  Forks  of 
the  River,  they  had  promised  the  Indians  to  come  this 
summer  (1798)  and  build  a  Fort  and  work  the  mines,  for  which 
the  Chippaways  were  waiting  for  them,  but  this  promise 
they  did  not  perform  until  the  year  1845.  M'  Cadotte  had 
a  few  goods  remaining  and  requested  a  passage  with  us  for 
himself  and  goods  which  we  gave  him  and  he  embarked 
with  us. 

Full  twenty  five  miles  North  eastward  of  the  Ontonoggan 
River  are  high  steep  rocks  of  a  reddish  color,  which  have  the 
most  distant  Echo  I  have  ever  heard.  We  stopped  a  short 
time  to  amuse  ourselves  with  it  :  The  Rocks  were  about 
200  feet  in  height  and  the  place  of  the  Echo  appeared  about 
sixty  feet  above  us ;  The  Echo  of  the  words  we  spoke,  seemed 
more  sharp  and  clear  than  our  voices  and  somewhat  louder. 

1  Thuja  occidentalis  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Acer  saccharum  Marsh.     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Acer  negundo  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Catostomus  commersonii  (Lacepede).     [E.  A.  P.] 


296      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

One  of  the  Men,  Francois  Babue,  who  had  been  many  years 
in  the  furr  trade  of  the  Lake  used  to  abuse  the  Echo  until 
he  worked  himself  into  a  violent  passion  ;  did  the  same  this 
time  until  his  expressions  becoming  too  coarse,  we  moved  off, 
he  swearing,  that  he  thought  it  very  hard  he  never  could 
have  the  last  word.  The  greater  part  of  this  day  we  were  in 
much  danger  from  the  Ice,  which  lay  in  the  Lake  a  short 
distance  from  the  shore  ;  had  it  come  in  we  could  not  have 
saved  ourselves  as  the  rocks  were  high  and  steep.  At  ji  pm 
we  put  up  on  Keewenaw  Carrying  Place  ;  This  is  a  remark- 
able place,  being  an  Isthmus  of  2000  yards,  in  a  south  course 
and  forms  a  body  of  Land  in  circuit  94  Miles  into  a  Peninsula  : 
known  under  the  name  of  Point  Keewenaw.  The  bank  is 
about  twenty  feet  in  height;  the  first  11 00  yards  is  good 
ground  ;  the  other  960  yards  a  perfect  swamp.  To  avoid 
going  round  this  Peninsula  of  high  land  the  people  of  the 
States  in  time  to  come  will  cut  a  Canal  through  the  Isthmus, 
at  a  small  expence,  as  a  Lock  is  not  required. '^  The  night 
being  clear,  as  usual,  I  observed  for  Latitude  and  Longitude 
the  former  47  .  14.  27  N.  Longitude  88°  38'  36"  West. 

From  the  Carrying  Place  is  a  Brook  of  1-5  mile  to  a 
small  Lake,  and  then  a  kind  of  Lagoon  of  24  miles  to  Lake 
Superior.  Part  of  the  Lagoon,  on  one  side  the  Woods 
were  on  fire,  the  heat  and  smoke  made  us  lay  by  for  a  few 
hours.  On  the  22""^  and  24'^  of  May  we  had  heavy  rain 
with  vivid  Lightning  and  loud  Thunder.  The  provisions  we 
had  to  live  on  were  hulled  Corn,  part  of  a  bag  of  wild  rice, 
with  a  few  pounds  of  grease  to  assist  the  boihng.  It  is 
customary  after  supper,  to  boil  corn  or  rice  for  the  meals  of 
next  day,  and  in  good  weather  we  set  off  by  4  am,  the  Kettles 
were  taken  off  the  fire  in  a  boiling  state  and  placed  in  the 
Canoe,  and  two  hours  afterwards  we  had  a  warm  breakfast ; 
If  Lightning  and  Thunder  came  in  the  day  the  Corn  became 

1  This  prediction  has  since  been  fulfilled  by  the  construction  of  the 
Portage  Lake  canal. 


SCOURGE   OF  THE   MISSISSIPPE        297 

sour  and  had  to  be  thrown  away ;  but  the  rice  never  soured  : 
the  same  thing  in  the  night,  when  the  kettle  had  corn  it  was 
soured,  but  if  of  rice  it  kept  good  :  the  Men  assured  me  that 
the  Lightning  and  Thunder  had  no  effect  on  the  wild  rice  ; 
and  that  in  the  heats  of  Summer  the  Corn  soured  so  fre- 
quently, they  were  half  starved  ;  to  boil  a  Kettle  of  corn 
requires  three  to  four  hours.  The  rice  is  cooked  in  half  an 
hour,  but  it  is  very  weak  food.  All  the  Corn  for  these  voyages 
has  to  be  steeped  in  hot  lye  of  wood  ashes  to  take  off  the  rind 
of  the  grain.  On  the  zS'*"  May  we  arrived.  Thank  God  at 
the  Falls  of  S*  Maries,  the  discharge  of  Lake  Superior,  and 
the  head  of  the  River  S^  Lawrence,  which  flows  into  Lake 
Huron. 

Here  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Sir  Alexander 
M'^Kenzie  the  celebrated  traveller  who  was  the  first  to  follow 
down  the  great  stream  of  water  flowing  northward  from  the 
Slave  Lake  into  the  Arctic  Sea,  and  which  great  River  bears  his 
name,  and  [was]  made  well  known  to  the  public  by  the  journey 
of  Sir  John  Franklin.  Upon  my  report  to  him  of  the  surveys 
I  had  made  and  the  number  of  astronomical  Observations  foi 
Latitude,  Longitude  and  Variation  of  the  Compass,  he  was 
pleased  to  say  I  had  performed  more  in  ten  months  than  he 
expected  could  be  done  in  two  years.  The  next  day  the 
Honorable  William  M'^GilHvray  arrived.  These  gentlemen 
were  the  Agents,  and  principal  Partners  of  the  North  West 
Company  :  they  requested  me  to  continue  the  survey  of  the 
Lake  round  the  east  and  north  sides  to  the  Grand  Portage, 
then  the  Depot  of  the  company.  The  survey  we  had  finished 
was  of  the  south  side,  from  the  west,  to  the  east  end  ;  follow- 
ing the  shores,  the  distance  is  671  miles,  but  the  direct  line 
is  only  383  miles.  We  had  met  with  no  families,  and 
allowing  twenty  families  not  seen,  will  give  130  families. 
M"  Cadotte,  who  has  been  for  many  years  a  Trader  in  these 
parts,  thought  125  families  to  be  nearer  the  number.  Allow- 
ing these  Natives  to  have  possession  of  hunting  ground  only 


298      DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

to  the  distance  of  70  miles  from  the  Lake,  the  extent  will  be 
26,810  square  miles,  and  this  divided  by  130  will  give  to  each 
family  an  extent  of  206  square  miles  of  hunting  ground  ;  yet 
with  this  wide  area  ;  the  annual  average  hunt  of  each  family 
of  all  kinds  of  furrs,  from  the  Bear  down  to  the  Musk  Rat,^ 
will  not  exceed  sixty  to  seventy  skins  in  trade  ;  allowing  a 
Bear  skin  to  be  the  value  of  two  beavers ;  and  eight  to  ten 
musk  Rats  to  be  the  value  of  one  beaver.  Deer  are  so  scarce 
that  all  they  kill  does  not  furnish  leather  for  their  wants,  and 
when  the  mild  seasons  come  they  all  descend  to  Lake  Superior 
to  live  by  fishing.  Calculation  is  tedious  reading,  yet  without 
it,  we  cannot  learn  the  real  state  of  any  country.  (Note. 
M'^  Ballantyne  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  lately 
published  a  work,  with  the  title  of  "  Six  years  residence  in 
Hudson's  Bay,"  in  which,  speaking  of  the  Bay,  he  says  "  the 
interior  has  Myriads  of  wild  animals."  The  Natives  will 
thank  him  to  show  them  where  they  are.  When  he  wrote 
those  words  he  must  have  been  thinking  of  Musketoes,  and 
in  this  respect  he  was  right.) 

The  Forests  of  the  Lake  are  such  as  has  been  already 
described  ;  I  could  not  learn  that  any  of  the  Forest  Trees 
acquired  a  growth  to  merit  particular  notice,  except  the 
white  Birch,  the  Rind  of  which  is  very  good  for  canoes,  and 
of  a  large  size. 

On  the  first  day  of  June  we  left  the  Falls  of  S'  Maries  and 
from  thence  surveyed  the  east  and  part  of  the  north  shores 
of  Lake  Superior  to  the  y^^  day  of  this  month,  when  late  we 
arrived  at  the  Grand  Portage,  then  the  Depot  of  the  North 
West  Company,  to  which  the  furrs  of  the  interiour  country 
came,  and  from  whence  the  merchandise  was  taken  for  the 
furr  trade  to  about  the  same  time  the  following  year,  as 
already  described.  The  Falls  of  St  Maries  is  a  rapid  of  about 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  in  length  in  which  it  descends  eleven 

^  Fiber  zibethicus  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


SCOURGE   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPE         299 

feet/  and  then  by  three  channels  of  easy  current  descends  to 
Lake  Huron.  The  carrying  place  is  about  a  mile  in  length 
of  low  wet  ground,  very  easy  for  a  canal  and  locks,  and  which 
at  length  is  about  to  be  completed  in  this  year  of  i84[8] 
The  opposite  bank  of  these  rapids  belong  to  the  United 
States,  it  is  steep  and  above  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  a 
canal  could  not  be  made  but  at  enormous  expence.  While  wait- 
ing [for]  the  Province  of  Canada  to  make  a  canal  on  the  only 
side  in  which  it  can  be  made,  these  enterprising  people  made 
a  deep  channel  at  the  foot  of  their  steep  bank  with  a  tow  path 
for  their  Vessels,  but  the  strength  of  the  current  makes  the 
passage  somewhat  dangerous.  This  canal  [they]  will  now  do 
away  with.  The  mines  of  copper  ore  that  have  been  worked 
both  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  the  people  of 
this  province  now  demand  a  canal  which  otherwise  would 
not  have  [been]  made,  although  the  fisheries  of  Lake  Superior 
required  a  canal  many  years  ago,  but  as  yet,  only  the  people 
of  the  States  are  engaged  in  these  fisheries,  although  superior 
to  that  of  any  other  which  is  always  the  case  with  deep  water. 

^  Eighteen  feet  ;    now  increased  to  about  nineteen  and  a  half  feet  by 
the  dredging  of  the  St.  Mary  river  below  the  Sault. 


CHAPTER    XX 

GREAT   WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS 

Western  country  of  Forests  and  Plains — Inhabitants — Build  a 
Trading  House  at  Red  Deer  Lake — Climate — Food  during 
winter  at  Red  Deer  Lake — Porcupines — Beaulieu  eats  a 
■porcupine  quill^ — Use  of  quills — Food  of  the  porcupine — 
Intelligence  of  the  porcupine — Stone  Indians  and  Sieux — 
Customs — Religion — ^  Vozv — Family  Feud — Trading  House 
at  the  Fords  of  the  Peace  and  Smoke  Rivers — Iroquois, 
Nepissings,  and  Algonquins  brought  to  the  Western  Forest 
land — Pride  of  the  Iroquois — Encounter  of  Iroquois  and 
Willow  Indians — Council  of  Iroquois — Feast  of  Iroquois — 
Dances — Spikanoggan  dances — Settlement  of  the  Iroquois — 
Theories  as  to  origen  of  the  Indians. 

HITHERTO  these  travels  have  extended  over  a  tract 
of  country  on  the  east  parts  of  North  America,  which 
from  it's  formation  I  have  called  the  Stoney  Region 
(perhaps  rocky,  would  be  more  appropriate).  As  akeady  de- 
scribed, it  is  little  else  than  rocks  with  innumerable  Lakes  and 
Rivers,  and  south  of  58  degrees  north  has  forests  of  small  Pines, 
which  increase  in  size  going  southward,  with  Aspin,  Poplar 
and  Birch,  but  northward  of  the  above  latitude  the  country  is 
covered  with  various  kinds  of  moss.  Northward  of  61  degrees 
this  region  may  be  said  to  extend  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
On  the  latitude  58  .  40  north  this  region  from  Churchill  in 
Hudsons  Bay  extend[s]  640  miles  to  the  westward  and  from 
Fort  Albany  in  the  same  bay,  on  the  parallel  of  52  degrees,  this 

^  There  is  no  reference  to  this  in  the  manuscript  here  printed. 

300 


GREAT   WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS     301 

region  is  660  miles  in  wi[d]th,  including  the  Lakes  on  its  west 
side.  From  Albany  southward  it's  west  side  embraces  the  great 
Lakes  Superior  and  Huron,  the  north  bank  of  the  Ottawa  and 
S*  Lawrence  Rivers  to  the  Gulf,  and  it's  east  side  is  everywhere 
bounded  by  the  sea.  On  the  whole  of  this  great  extent  of 
country  containing  an  area  of  about  .  .  .  square  miles,  the 
Deer  and  other  wild  animals  of  the  forest  are  thinly  scattered 
for  the  comparative  extent  of  the  country ;  and  the  native 
Indians  are  in  the  same  proportion.  The  summer  is  from  five 
to  six  months,  or  more  properly  the  open  season,  with  frequent 
frosts,  and  heats,  but  always  tormented  with  Musketoes  and 
other  flies.  In  the  winter  the  snow  is  deep  and  the  cold 
intense,  in  the  months  of  December,  January  and  February 
the  Thermometer  is  for  many  days  at  fifty  to  seventy  degrees 
below  the  freezing  point.  In  the  open  season  the  Natives 
and  Traders  make  use  of  Canoes,  and  in  winter  of  flat  sleds ; 
for  removing  from  place  to  place.  Such  is  the  country  of  the 
north  east,  or  Siberian,  side  of  north  America. 

For  Agriculture  it  offers  nothing  to  the  farmer  except  a 
few  places  detached  from  each  other,  without  a  market ;  nor 
can  it  become  a  grazing  country,  the  torment  of  the  flies  is 
too  great  to  allow  cattle  to  graze  until  the  cool  nights  of 
September  ;  the  sufferings  of  the  Deer  must  be  seen  to  be 
believed  ;  even  the  timid  Moose  Deer  on  some  days  is  so 
distressed  with  the  flies,  as  to  be  careless  of  life,  and  the 
hunters  have  shot  them  in  this  state,  and  the  cloud  of  flies 
about  them  [was]  so  great,  and  dense,  that  they  did  not  dare 
to  go  to  the  animal  for  several  minutes.  Such  cannot  be  a 
grazing  country,  especially  when  to  this  is  added,  a  long  cold 
winter  with  great  depth  of  snow.  We  may  therefore  con- 
clude, that  as  all  kind  Providence  has  fitted  the  Arabians 
to  live  and  enjoy  his  naked  hot  sandy  deserts  so  the  same 
merciful  Being  has  fitted  the  Indian  to  live  and  enjoy  his 
cold  region  of  forests  and  deserts  of  snow.  The  means  for  the 
enjoyment  of  civilised  life  is  denied  to  both,  and  the  white 


302     DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

man  is  unfitted  to  take  the  place  of  the  Indian  and  the  arabian. 
Modern  geologists  would  consider  this  Stoney  Region  to  be 
a  formation  that  had  been  uncovered  and  left  by  the  sea, 
long  after  the  land  to  its  westward,  on  which  I  shall  now 
describe. 

The  climate  of  this  region  is  best  explained  by  the  meteoro- 
logical tables  kept.  (To  be  in  a  note)  that  at  Bedford  House, ^ 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Rein's  Deer  Lake,  in  Latitude  57°  23' 
N.  Longitude  102  .  59  west. 


+ 

+ 

+ 

October 

Mean  heat 

26 

greatest 

54 

least  heat 

15 

November 

d" 

1-5 

do 

45 

J- 

d" 

37 

December 

d« 

18 

d" 

30 

+ 

d'^ 

56 

January 

d" 

19 

d" 

25 

+ 

d" 

50 

February 

d« 

16.7 

d'- 

15 
+ 

d'^ 

49 

March 

d" 

5 

+ 

d" 

44 

+ 

d" 

43 

April 

d" 

11.5 

d" 

40 

+ 

d" 

30 

May  20  days 

d" 

24.5 

d- 

50 

d^' 

7 

In  summer,  the  Thermometer   for  a  few   day   in  July,  the 

+ 
heat  was  at   80  making  the  range  of  heat  and  cold  to  be 

136  degrees.     The  Ice  in  this  great   Lake  was  firm  to  the 

G^  day  of  July,  when  a  heavy  gale  of  wind  broke  it  up.     Where 

there  is  soil  in  the  Pine  Forests,  the  heat  of  summer  thaws  it 

only  a  few  inches. 

At  the  Reed  Lake^  in  Latitude  54°  36'  N.  [Longitude] 

'  Thompson  spent  the  winter  of  1796-97  at  this  house,  just  before 
leaving  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

*  Reed  lake  is  on  the  headwaters  of  Grass  river,  on  the  line  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Railway  from  The  Pas  to  Port  Nelson.  Thompson  lived 
there  during  the  winters  of  1794—95  and  1805-06. 


GREAT   WESTERN    FOREST   LANDS     303 

1 00°    37'    West    the    temperature    of    the   following   months 

was. 

+  +  + 

October  8  days                  Mean     27  greatest  38  least  heat  i8 

+  + 

November                             d"        18  d"        34  d°          15 

-  +  - 
December                              d°        10  d"        31  d"         45 

-  + 

January  d°       21.3  d°         11  d°         47 

+  +  - 

February  d°        6  d°        39  d°         31 

+  +  - 

March  d"        6  d**        41  d°         30 

+  -;-  - 

April  d"       31  d"        63  d°  7 

+  + 

May  26  days  d°       43  d"        72  d""         19 

In  the  summer,  for  a  few  days  in  July  the  heat  rises  to 
88  degrees,  and  except  in  some  few  places  of  thick  pine  forests, 
the  ground  is  thawed  during  the  summer. 

Leaving  the  Stoney  region  and  it's  Lakes  is  a  great  extent 
of  land  of  very  different  formation  ;  and  extending  west- 
ward to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  it  is  almost  wholly 
composed  of  earth,  with  few  rocks,  and  only  in  the  northern 
part  has  a  few  Lakes,  none  of  them  large ;  This  great  body 
of  dry  land  extends  from  the  gulph  of  Mexico  to  beyond  the 
Arctic  Circle.  From  north  of  the  parallel  of  52  degrees  to 
the  latitude  of  72  degrees  the  whole  is  a  forest  of  mostly  the 
Pine  genus  with,  in  favorable  places.  Birch,  Poplar  and  Aspin. 

Southward  of  the  latitude  of  52  degrees  are  the  great 
plains  which  extend  to  the  Gulp  of  Mexico.  The  breadth  of 
this  land  is  from  550  to  about  850  miles.  This  western 
country  of  forests  and  plains  have  Animals  peculiar  to  itself ; 
and  those  that  are  common  to  both  regions  are  here  larger 
and  in  better  condition  from  a  somewhat  milder  climate,  and 
more  abundance  of  food.  Of  the  Natives,  there  are  none 
sufficiently  numerous  to  be  called  "  a  Nation  "  I  have  there- 
fore   called    them    "  Tribes "    though    many    of    them    speak 


304      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

languages  quite  distinct  from  each  other.  As  the  word  Tribe 
may  be  a  small  number,  speaking  the  same  language,  and 
holding  firmly  together  as  one  great  family.  Such  are  the 
Rapid  Indians,^  the  Sussee "  and  Kootanae  ^  Indians,  each  of 
these  have  a  very  different  language,  and  each  so  rough  and 
difficult  to  articulate  that  the  neighbouring  people  rarely 
attempt  to  learn  them.  Each  of  these  tribes  may  have  a 
population  of  500  to  1000  souls,  to  speak  the  language  of  it's 
Tribe,  and  this  number  is  all  that  do  speak  the  language. 
The  intelligent  people  of  the  United  States  who  have  paid 
attention  to  the  north  American  Indians  have  always  been 
struck  with  the  numerous  radical  Languages  of  the  Indians, 
and  from  whence  they  could  have  come,  but  all  lies  in  obscurity, 
and  the  few  theories  of  learned  men  on  the  peopling  of  this 
continent  are  in  general  so  contrary  to  facts,  that  they  can  be 
regarded  only  as   theory. 

On  the  region  of  the  western  forest  land,  at  a  fine  Lake 
called  the  Red  Deers  Lake,"*  at  the  head  of  the  small  streams 

1  The  Rapid  Indians,  technically  known  as  Atsina,  were  usually 
spoken  of  by  travellers  in  western  Canada  as  Fall  Indians  or  Gros  Ventres 
of  the  Plains.  They  were  a  detached  branch  of  the  Arapaho  nation,  and 
were  of  Algonquin  stock.  On  Arrowsmith's  map  of  181 1  they  are  marked 
as  occupying  the  upper  parts  of  the  country  drained  by  the  Red  Deer 
river,  which  is  the  northern  branch  of  the  South  Saskatchewan  river. 

^  The  Sussee  or  Sarsi  are  a  tribe  of  the  Athapascan  family  which  has 
become  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  members  of  the  family.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  they  occupied  the  country  near  the 
headwaters  of  the  North  Saskatchewan  river,  and  between  that  stream 
and  the  Athabaska  river.  At  present  they  are  on  a  reserve  near  Calgary, 
Alberta,  and  in  191 1  numbered  205  all  told. 

3  The  Kutenai  Indians  form  a  distinct  linguistic  stock,  occupying 
the  country  along  the  Upper  Columbia  river  from  the  Upper  Columbia 
lakes  to  Pend  d'Oreille  lake.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  they 
occupied  the  country  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  around  the  headwaters 
of  the  Belly  river,  but  they  were  driven  west  across  the  mountains  by 
the  Blackfeet  as  soon  as  these  latter  obtained  fire-arms  from  the  white 
traders. 

*  This  is  Lake  La  Biche,  105  miles  in  a  direct  line  north-east  of  the 
city  of  Edmonton,  Alberta.  Thompson  spent  at  this  place  the  winter  of 
1798-99. 


GREAT   WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS     305 

which  feed  the  Beaver  River  the  southern  branch  of  the 
Churchill  River  in  October  we  erected  a  trading  house  and 
passed  the  winter.  Its  Latitude  54°  46'  23"  N  Longitude 
111°  56'  W.     It's  climate  in 

+  +  - 

November Mean  temperature  13.5  greatest  37  least    6 

-  +  - 
December d"                  6.5  d°        40  d°    48 

-  +  - 
January d"                  5  d°        40  d°    48 

+                       +  - 

February d°                  9  d°        43  d°    26 

+                       +  - 

March  to  the  14th   .     .                     d"                12  d°        44  d°     13 

This  trading  House  is  lof  Minutes  north  and  11^  degrees 
west  of  the  Reed  Lake  on  the  Stoney  region,  and  so  far 
shows  a  milder  climate.  Had  the  thermometer  been  con- 
tinued through  the  rest  of  the  year,  the  difference  would 
have  been  very  great,  and  [it  would  be  clear]  that  the  tem- 
perature of  April  on  this  dry  region  is  equal  to  that  of  May 
on  the  Stoney  region  from  the  lesser  quantity  of  Snow,  and 
the  Sun  exerting  it's  influence  on  the  bare  ground  in  April, 
which  on  the  latter  it  does  not  do  to  the  middle  of  May. 
The  Lake  from  our  set  nets  gave  us  fish  of  Pike,^  White  Fish,^ 
Pickerel  ^  and  Carp  *  for  about  one  third  of  our  support,  and 
the  Hunters  furnished  the  rest,  which  was  almost  wholly  of 
the  Moose  Deer ;  in  five  months  they  gave  us  forty  nine 
Moose  all  within  twenty  miles  of  the  House  and  a  few  Bull 
Bisons,^  whereas  on  the  Stoney  region,  it  woiild  be  a  for- 
tunate trading  house,  that  during  the  winter  had  the  meat 

^  Esox  lucius  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Coregonus.     Lake  La  Biche  is  still  famous  for  the  number  and  quality 
of  its  whitefish.     [E.  A.  P.] 

■"  Stizostedion  vitreum  [MitchiW) .     Wall-eyed  Pike  ;   Dore.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Both  Catostomus  catostomus  (Forster),  and  Moxostoma  lesueuri  prob- 
ably occur.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Bison  bison  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

U 


306     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  six  Moose  Deer^  brought  to  it,  and  even  that  quantity 
would  rarely  happen. 

On  this  region  all  the  animals  attain  their  full  size.  (Note. 
A  male  Beaver,^  allowed  to  be  full  grown  and  in  good  condition, 
measured  from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  insertion  of  the  tail, 
three  feet  and  half  an  inch,  the  tail  thirteen  inches  in  length, 
by  seven  inches  in  breadth.  Girth  round  the  breast  thirty 
two  inches ;  round  the  hind  quarters  thirty  six  inches.  The 
head  five  inches  in  length.  Its  weight  as  aHve  sixty  five 
pounds.  A  Porcupine^  from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  in- 
sertion of  the  tail  twenty  six  inches,  the  tail  ten  inches  in 
length,  round  and  closely  armed  with  barbed  quills  ;  Girth 
roimd  the  breast  twenty  inches ;  the  hair  of  a  dark  grey, 
intermixed  with  which  are  his  well  barbed  quills  which  are 
very  slightly  fixed  in  the  skin,  the  quill  is  white  to  the  barb 
which  is  black,  and  are  placed  from  his  shoulders  to,  and  on 
the  tail,  the  sides  and  belly  have  none  ;  they  are  thickest  and 
longest  on  the  rump.  They  are  from  one  to  two  and  a  half 
[inches]  in  length,  some  few  about  three  inches,  and  near  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  in  girth  :  on  the  larger  quills  the  barbed 
part  is  half  an  inch  in  length,  containing  small  circular  barbs 
through  its  length. 

When  approached  it  places  it's  head  under  its  breast,  lies 
down  and  presents  only  it's  back  and  tail,  and  if  an  animal 
attempts  to  seize  him  it  gives  a  jerk  with  it's  back,  which 
drives  the  quills  deep  into  it's  mouth,  and  are  held  fast  by 
the  barbs,  and  prevents  all  farther  attacks.  Confident  of 
their  power  of  defence,  they  pursue  their  slow  walk,  careless 
of  the  barking  of  Dogs,  the  yelping  of  Foxes,  or  other 
animals.  A  hungry  Fox  or  Fisher  will  sometimes  try  to  turn 
it  on  it's  back  but  gets  it's  nose  and  face  so  full  of  quills,  as 
to  desist. 

»  A  Ices  americanus  (Clinton).     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Castor  canadensis  Kuhl.     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Erethizon  dorsatitm  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


GREAT    WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS     807 

The  natives  that  traded  at  this  House,  were  about  thirty 
Nahathaway  and  the  same  number  of  Swampy  Ground  Stone 
Indians^  who  still  continue  to  prefer  their  ancient  mode  of 
life  to  living  in  the  Plains,  where  the  rest  of  their  Tribes  are  : 
The  languages  of  both  these  people  are  soft  and  easy  to  learn 
and  speak,  that  of  the  Stone  Indians  is  so  agreeable  to  the 
ear,  it  may  be  called  the  Italian  Language  of  North  America  ; 
and  by  the  Tribes  of  these  people  under  the  name  of  Sieux 
extends  over  the  east  side  of  the  Plains  and  down  a  consider- 
able distance  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Mississippe.  Their 
opinions,  rites  and  ceremonies  of  religion  are  much  the  same 
as  the  Nahathaways,  with  whom  they  are  strictly  allied.  All 
these  people  are  superior  in  stature  and  good  looks,  to  the 
generality  of  those  of  the  Stoney  Region  from  a  better  country 
and  a  greater  supply  of  food.  They  have  their  Medicine 
Bags  which  is  generally  filled  with  sweet  smeUing  vegetables, 
and  have  the  bones  of  some  particular  part  of  the  Beaver, 
Otter,  Musk,  Rat,  Racoon,  Bear  and  Porcupine,  mostly  of 
the  head,  or  hind  parts,  to  which  they  attach  a  superstitious 
virtue  especially  to  those  of  their  Poowoggan,  the  Manito  of 
which  they  regard  as  favorable  to  them. 

They  all  hold  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  Soul, 
or  as  they  call  it,  "  Life  after  Death  "  and  their  Ideas  of  the 
other  world  is  much  the  same  as  they  have  of  their  present 
existence,  only  heightened  to  constant  happiness  in  social  life 
and  success  in  hunting  without  fatigue.  They  all  hope  to  be 
happy  after  death,  if  the  Great  Spirit  finds  them  to  be  good ; 
whether  he  will  do  so,  does  not  occupy  much  of  their  thoughts 
in  the  prime  of  life,  but  as  age  advances  is  frequently  the 
subject  of  their  conversations  for  they  have  much  time  to 
spare,  and  few  subjects  to  engross  their  attention.     They  all 

^  These  are  Assiniboin  or  Stone  Indians,  who  prefer  to  live  in  the 
woods.  The  Assiniboin  are  a  branch  of  the  Sioux  family  which  broke 
away  from  the  parent  stock,  and  moved  northward  towards  the  Sas- 
katchewan river.     See  note  on  p.  326. 


308      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

agree  that  the  crimes  committed  is  marked  on  the  soul,  and 
thus  marked  enters  the  other  world  ;  They  believe  that  those 
who  were  placed  in  the  happy  state  had  their  Souls  clean 
and  white,  but  none  could  inform  me  how  the  stains  on  the 
Soul  had  been  eradicated,  this  is  a  doctrine  too  profound  for 
them,  and  on  which  they  were  utterly  at  a  loss  :  they  feel  it 
and  have  some  ceremonies  and  sacrifices  to  obtain  it,  but  in 
which  they  place  Httle  confidence. 

A  man  who  had  been  guilty  of  a  crime,  (I  could  not  learn 
what  it  was)  enjoined  on  himself  the  penance  of  eating  nothing 
for  a  whole  year,  that  was  not  placed  in  his  mouth,  and  which 
he  steadily  kept.  He  afterwards  declared  that  he  would  never 
again  make  such  another  vow  as  the  provisions  thus  placed  in 
his  mouth  was  not  enough  and  badly  cooked  ;  which  the 
Indians  said  he  deserved  for  placing  himself  in  the  power  of 
other  people,  and  in  a  manner  making  them  his  servants. 

An  Indian  named  Askeeawawshish  (Son  of  the  Earth) 
between  40  and  50  years  of  age,  and  whom  I  found  a  good 
man  and  respected  by  the  natives  when  a  young  man  un- 
fortunately became  heir  to  a  fued  between  his  family,  and 
that  of  another  family,  and  each  had  to  retaHate  the  injuries 
of  times  past.  One  spring  on  the  arrival  of  the  wild  geese, 
when  the  Indians  collect  together  to  enjoy  the  season,  these 
two  famihes  met,  the  young  man  of  the  head  of  the  other 
family  had  often  said,  he  would  on  the  first  occasion  have  his 
revenge  ;  and  sought  it  of  Askeeawawshish,  but  fell  himself 
in  the  encounter,  some  twenty  five  years  before  the  time  I 
am  speaking  of.  The  Indians  related  this  to  do  away  with 
any  impressions  I  might  have  against  him  ;  As  I  understood 
that  he  was  still  continuing  his  penance  for  having  shed 
human  blood,  I  was  anxious  to  learn  of  himself  what  were 
his  thoughts  on  this  sad  subject.  His  relation  was.  After  the 
first  excitement  was  over  of  myself  and  the  family  to  which 
I  belonged  I  became  melancholy  and  disheartened,  I  no 
longer    enjoyed    hunting    and    as    both   family   were    nearly 


GREAT   WESTERN    FOREST   LANDS     309 

related,  the  Women  said  that  I  aught  to  go  to  war  and  kill  a 
Snake  Indian  that  he  might  have  a  slave  to  attend  him  in 
the  other  world.  This  would  please  him  and  make  us  friends 
when  we  met  in  the  other  world.  Thus  the  summer  passed 
away,  and  a  very  hard  winter  came  on,  deep  snow  with  heavy 
gales  of  wind  with  long  calms  between  made  hunting  so 
difficult  that  we  could  hardly  maintain  ourselves ;  this  made 
the  old  people  change  my  penance  for  another  in  which  I 
was  not  to  leave  them,  and  my  penance  now  is,  and  from 
that  time  has  been,  at  the  first  dawn  of  day  to  rise  take  my 
rattle  and  sing  to  the  Great  Spirit  to  make  me  good  and  a 
skilful  hunter,  and  when  I  die  to  blot  out  the  mark  of  the 
red  blood  on  my  soul,  for  I  feel  perfectly  perswaded  it  will 
remain  with  me  as  long  as  I  Hve,  and  every  crime  we  commit 
is  in  the  same  state.  Such  is  the  confession  of  every  serious 
Native,  they  knew  of  nothing  by  which  the  pardon  of  sins 
can  be  obtained  and  although  many  of  us  spoke  their  language 
sufficiently  fluent  for  trade  and  the  common  business  yet  we 
found  ourselves  very  deficient  if  we  attempted  to  impress  on 
them  any  doctrine  of  Christianity  beyond  the  unity  of  God, 
his  creation  and  preservation  of  mankind  and  of  everything 
else,  to  all  which  they  readily  assented  as  consonant  to  truth 
and  their  own  ideas. 

On  taking  the  necessaries  which  they  require  for  the  winter 
season,  and  which  are  mostly  on  credit ;  several  of  them, 
especially  of  those  advanced  in  Hfe,  have  made  a  bargain  with 
me,  that  if  they  should  die  in  the  winter  I  should  not  demand 
the  debt  due  to  me,  in  the  other  world,  and  to  which  I  always 
agreed.  The  life  of  a  Hunter  is  precarious,  but  a  provident 
family  will  make  dried  provisions  for  hard  times,  and  let 
things  be  as  hard  as  is  sometimes  [the  case],  the  Indian  sees 
none  better  than  himself,  and  knows  he  is  master  of  every- 
thing he  can  secure  by  hunting,  or  otherwise  ;  Whereas  to 
the  constant  labor  of  the  lower  classes  of  Europe  they  live  in 
penury  without  daring  to  touch  the  abundance  all  around 


310      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

them.  The  Natives  that  live  in  Villages  may  profit  by  the 
labors  of  a  prudent  Missionary,  but  the  wandering  Indians 
that  live  wholly  by  hunting,  and  are  rarely  more  than  a  few 
days  in  [one]  place,  and  in  this  only  by  families  cannot  hope 
for  the  labors  of  a  Missionary  ;  the  little  they  can  learn  must 
come  from  the  Traders,  and  if  they  cannot  learn  morahty 
from  them,  [they]  can  teach  them  to  leave  off  the  worship 
and  sacrif[ic]ing  a  dog  to  the  Mauchee  Manito  (the  Devil)  and 
leave  off  prayers  to  the  inferior  Manitoes,  and  direct  all  their 
prayers  and  thanksgiving  to  the  Great  Spirit  alone,  the  Master 
of  Life. 

On  the  more  northern  part  of  this  great  western  forest, 
at  the  Forks  of  the  Peace  and  Smoke  Rivers,  (the  principal 
stream  which  forms  the  Mackenzie.)  in  Latitude  56°  8'  17"  N. 
Longitude  117°  13'  14"  W  the  temperatures  for  the  year 
were 


+ 

January 

Mean  10 

+ 

Greatest  heat 

39 

+ 

Least 

49 

Range  88°  degrees 

February 

dp     7 

d" 

41 

+ 

d° 

38 

d"      79 

March 

d"    22.5 

+ 

d" 

57 

+ 

d" 

32 

+ 

d"      89 

April 

d«    37-6 

d° 

71 

+ 

d" 

16 

+ 

d"      55 

May 

d°   64 

d*> 

80 

+ 

d° 

30 

+ 

d'^      50 

June 

d"    64.5 

-r 

d^^ 

86 

+ 

d° 

44 

+ 

d"      42 

July 

d"   63 

+ 

d» 

84 

+ 

d» 

46 

+ 

d"      38 

August 

d"   60 

+ 

d« 

85 

+ 

d« 

38 

+ 

d"      47 

September 

d°    55 

J- 

d- 

86 

+ 

d" 

21 

d"      65 

October 

d°   40 

d" 

71 

d" 

19 

d-      52 

November 

d"    14.6 

d" 

41 

d" 

13 

d'^      54 

December 

d"      4 

d" 

19 

d" 

38 

d'^      57 

+ 

+ 

— 

Mean 

35 

86 

38 

124 

GREAT   WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS     311 

The  trading  house  at  the  Forks  of  the  River  ^  is  about 
150  miles  eastward  of  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
its  elevation  above  the  level  of  the  sea  about  4000  feet. 

The  whole  of  the  great  western  forest  had  very  many 
Beaver,  it  had  few  Lakes,  but  what  was  better  for  the  Beaver 
many  small  brooks,  and  streams  which  they  dammed  up  and 
made  Ponds  for  their  houses,  and  the  Natives  had  thus  an 
anual  supply  of  furrs  to  trade  all  they  required,  and  had  the 
furr  trade  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  one  company  under 
the  control  of  govern[ment]  might  have  continued  to  do  so 
to  this  time ;  but  from  Canada  the  trade  was  open  to  every 
adventurer,  and  some  of  these  brought  in  a  great  number  of 
Iroquois,  Nepissings  and  Algonquins^  who  with  their  steel 
traps  had  destroyed  the  Beaver  on  their  own  lands  in  Canada 
and  New  Brunswick ;  The  two  latter,  the  men  were  tall, 
manly,  steady  and  good  hunters,  the  few  women  they  brought 
with  them  were  good  looking  and  well  behaved  and  their 
dress  came  to  the  feet  and  both  sexes  [were]  respected  by  the 
Natives.  The  Iroquois  formed  about  half  the  number  of 
these  immigrants,  they  considered  themselves  superior  to  all 
other  people,  especially  the  white  people  of  Canada,  which 
they  carried  in  their  countenances,  being  accustomed  to  show 
themselves  off  in  dances  and  flourishing  their  tomahawks 
before  the  civiHzed  people  of  Canada,  and  making  speeches 
on  every  occasion,  which  were  all  admired  and  praised  through 
politeness  to  them,  gave  them  a  high  opinion  of  themselves  : 
The  few  women  they  brought  with  them  were  any  thing  but 
beauty  and  their  dress  was  careless  with  the  shirt  on  the 
outside  and  petticoats  to  only  a  Httle  below  the  knees,  the 
toes  and  feet  turned  inwards  which   made  them  walk  Hke 

^  This  post  had  been  built  by  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  in  the  autumn 
of  1792,  when  he  was  on  his  way  from  Lake  Athabaska  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  In  it  he  and  his  assistant,  Alexander  McKay,  spent  the  winter  of 
1792-93.  Thompson  was  at  this  post  during  the  winters  of  1802-03  ^^^ 
1803-04. 

2  This  influx  of  eastern  Indians  occurred  about  1798. 


312      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

ducks,  so  different  from  the  slender  tall  forms  of  the  women 
of  the  Plains,  their  easy,  graceful  walk,  and  dress  touching 
the  ground.  Part  of  these  went  up  the  Red  Deer  River, 
and  about  250  of  them  came  up  the  Saskatchewan  River,  in 
company  with  the  canoes  of  the  Fur  Traders  to  one  of  the 
upper  Posts  called  Fort  Augustus^  where  the  River  passes 
through  fine  Plains,  upon  the  banks  and  in  the  interior 
country  are  numerous  herds  of  Bisons  and  several  kinds  of 
Deer,^  and  many  Bears  ^  of  several  colours.  The  Algonquins 
and  Nepissings  paid  every  attention  to  the  advice  given  to 
them,  and  performed  the  voyage  without  accident ;  but  the 
Iroquois  treated  our  warnings  with  contempt ;  When  advised 
to  be  cautious  in  the  hunting  of  the  Bison,  especially  when 
wounded  ;  they  would  laugh  and  say  they  killed  an  ox  with 
the  stroke  of  an  axe,  and  should  do  the  same  to  the  Bisons. 
The  second  day  in  hunting  one  of  them  wounded  a  Bull 
which  ran  at  him,  and  although  he  avoided  the  full  stroke  of 
the  head,  yet  was  so  much  hurt  that  it  was  about  two  months 
before  he  was  well.  The  next  day  as  two  of  them  was  cross- 
ing a  low  point  of  wood  near  the  river,  they  saw  a  Bull,  fired 
at  and  wounded  him,  the  Bull  rushed  on  one  of  them  who 
to  escape  ran  behind  an  old  rotten  stump  of  a  tree  of  about 
ten  feet  high,  the  furious  animal  came  dash  against  it,  threw 
it  down  and  the  man  lay  beneath  it,  the  Bull  also  fell  on  it, 
and  rolled  off  ;  The  comrade  of  the  poor  fellow  ran  to  the 
river  and  hailed  the  canoes  ;  several  of  the  Men  came,  the 
Bison  was  dying,  they  took  the  stump  away,  but  the  Iroquois 
was    crushed    and    dead.     These    two    accidents    somewhat 


^  See  description  of  this  fort  on  p.  432. 

*  The  Mule  Deer,  Odocoileus  hemionus  (Rafinesque),  and  rarely  the 
Plains  White-tailed  Deer,  O.  virginianus  macrourus  (Rafinesque),  still 
occur ;  the  Elk  or  Wapiti,  Cervus  canadensis  Erxleben,  was  formerly 
common.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  The  Black  Bear,  Ursus  americanus  Pallas,  occurs  in  both  the  or- 
dinary black  and  the  cinnamon  colour  phases.  Formerly  the  Grizzly 
Bear,  Ursus  horribilis  Ord,  was  frequently  found.     [E.  A.  P.] 


GREAT   WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS     313 

lowered  their  pride  as  they  found  that  even  their  guns  could 
not  always  protect  them. 

A  few  days  after,  as  two  of  them  were  hunting  (they  always 
went  by  two)  they  met  a  colored  Bear/  which  one  of  them 
wounded,  the  Bear  sprung  on  him,  and  standing  on  his  hind 
feet  seized  the  Iroquois  hugging  him  with  his  fore  legs  and 
paws,  which  broke  the  bones  of  both  arms  above  the  elbow, 
and  with  it's  teeth  tore  the  skin  of  the  head  from  the  crown 
to  the  forehead,  for  the  poor  fellow  had  drawn  his  knife  to 
defend  himself,  but  could  not  use  it ;  fortunately  his  comrade 
was  near,  and  putting  his  gun  close  to  the  Bear  shot  him 
dead.  The  poor  fellow  was  a  sad  figure,  none  of  us  were 
surgeons,  but  we  did  the  best  we  could,  but  for  want  of 
proper  bandageing  his  arms  were  three  months  in  getting 
well.  These  accidents  happening  only  to  the  Iroquois  made 
them  superstitious  and  they  concluded  that  some  of  the 
Algonquins  had  thrown  bad  medicine  on  them,  and  a  quarrel 
would  probably  have  taken  place  had  we  not  been  with 
them.  These  accidents  were  the  fault  of  their  mode  of 
hunting,  being  accustomed  to  hunt  only  timid  animals,  and 
keeping  about  one  hundred  yards  from  each  other,  to  cover 
more  ground  did  very  well  for  Deer  ;  but  to  hunt  the  animals 
of  the  upper  countries  as  the  Bison  and  Bear  and  which  are 
fierce  and  dangerous,  requires  the  two  hunters  to  be  close  to 
each  other,  the  one  reserving  his  fire  in  case  of  the  wounded 
animal  being  able  to  attack  them  ;  they  were  faulty  in  their 
hunting  until  experience  taught  them  better. 

The  native  hunt  mostly  alone,  and  from  the  precautions 
very  seldom  meet  with  an  accident.  On  arrival  at  Fort 
Augustus  aU  these  people  had  to  disperse  and  go  to  some 
place  to  pass  the  winter  and  make  their  furr  hunts.  The  hills 
to  the  southward,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  were  known 
to  have  many  Beavers,  and  thither  they  were  disposed  to  go  ; 
but  at  a  kind  of  council,  we  pointed  out  the  dangers  they 
*  Grizzly  Bear,  Ursus  horribilis  Ord.     [E.  A.  P.] 


314      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

would  encounter,  as  it  was  the  country  of  the  powerful  tribes 
of  the  Plains  who  had  gained  the  country  by  war,  and  held 
it  as  a  conquered  country  open  to  the  incursions  of  their 
enemies,  in  which  they  would  probably  be  destroyed,  or  at 
least  plundered  ;  by  some  of  the  war  parties  ;  and  advised 
them  to  go  to  the  forest  lands  of  the  north  where  there  were 
also  many  Beaver,  the  Natives  few  and  peaceable,  and  where 
they  could  hunt  in  safety.  This  advice  was  directly  followed 
by  the  Algonquins  and  Nepissings,  they  separated  themselves 
into  small  parties  and  passed  the  winter  in  safety  and  made 
good  hunts.  This  advice  had  a  very  different  eifect  on  the 
Iroquois,  who  determined  to  send  oif  a  large  party  to  examine 
the  country  to  the  southward  and  see  what  the  disposition 
of  the  Natives  were  to  them,  whom  they  appeared  to 
despise.  Accordingly  part  hunted  near  the  Fort  while  a 
party  of  about  seventy  five  men  well  armed  went  off,  foolishly 
taking  their  self  conceit  and  arrogance  with  them.  They 
soon  came  to  a  small  camp  of  Peeagans  ^  the  owners  of  the 
country,  and  all  their  enquiry  was  where  the  Beavers  were 
most  plenty  as  if  they  were  masters  of  the  country.  As  they 
did  not  understand  each  other,  the  whole  was  by  signs,  at 
which  the  Indians  were  tolerably  expert.  The  Peeagans  did 
not  know  what  to  make  of  them,  but  let  them  pass.  In  this 
manner  they  passed  two  more  small  camps  to  the  fourth 
which  was  a  larger  camp  of  WiUow  Indians.^  Having  now 
proceeded  about  eighty  miles,  they  agreed  to  go  no  farther 
spend  a  few  days  and  return. 

Although  the  Natives  did  not  much  Hke  their  behaviour, 
they  treated  them  hospitably  as  usual  to  strangers.  After 
smoking  and  feasting,  they  performed  a  dance  ;  and  then 
sitting  down,  by  signs  invited  the  Willow  Indians  to  a 
gambHng  match,  this  soon  brought  on  a  quarrel,  in  which 

*  See  note  on  p.  327. 

^  It  is  most  likely  that    Thompson  here  refers  to  the  Atsina  or  Fall 
Indians,  whose  country  was  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Red  Deer  river. 


GREAT   WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS     315 

the  arrogant  gestures  of  the  Iroquois  made  the  other  party- 
seize  their  arms,  and  with  their  guns  and  Arrows  lay  dead 
twenty  five  of  them ;  the  others  fled,  leaving  their  blankets 
and  a  few  other  things  to  the  Willow  Indians,  and  returned 
to  Fort  Augustus  in  a  sad  state.  This  affair  made  the  Indians 
of  the  Plains  look  on  them  with  contempt  for  allowing  so  many 
to  be  killed  like  women,  without  even  firing  a  shot  in  their 
defence,  for  the  Willow  Indians  were  but  a  few  more  than  the 
Iroquois,  and  mostly  armed  with  Bows  and  Arrows,  which 
whatever  may  be  thought  by  civilized  men,  is  a  dreadful 
weapon  in  the  hands  of  a  good  Archer.  The  defeated  Iroquois 
sent  word  of  their  misfortune  to  the  parties  that  were  hunt- 
ing, and  alltogether  collected  about  1 20  men  ;  Councils  were 
held  and  war  parties  to  be  formed  for  revenge,  to  which  the 
Nahathaway  Indians,  (the  natives  and  masters  of  the  country) 
were  invited,  in  hopes  they  would  join  them ;  but  all  to  no 
purpose,  the  Nahathaways  told  them  they  would  not  enter 
into  their  quarrel  against  their  old  allies,  and  pointed  out  to 
them  that  three  times  their  numbers  would  make  no  impres- 
sion on  the  Indians  ;  they  were  numerous,  good  cavalry  and 
accustomed  to  war,  adding,  you,  yourselves,  may  go  and  take 
your  revenge,  but  we  do  not  think  any  of  you  will  return. 
All  this  lowered  their  self  conceit  and  arrogance,  they  saw 
plainly  the  Natives  of  those  countries  had  no  great  opinion 
of  them,  and  giving  up  all  thought  of  revenge,  as  they  were 
now  to  separate  for  the  winter  agreed  to  make  a  feast  and 
perform  all  their  dances,  to  which  the  Nahathaways  were 
invited  ;  The  next  day  they  all  appeared  in  their  best  dresses ; 
and  the  feast  took  place  about  noon  of  the  choice  pieces  of 
the  Bison  and  Red  Deer  ;  ^  at  which  as  usual,  grace  was  said 
and  responded  to  by  the  guests. 

The  feast  being  over  the  dances  began  by  the  Iroquois 
and  their  comrades ;  after  a  few  common  dances,  they  com- 
menced their  favorite  dance  of    the    grand   Calumet,  which 

^  Cervus  canadensis  Erxleben.     [E.  A.  P.] 


316      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

was  much  admired  and  praised,  and  they  requested  the 
Nahathaways  to  dance  their  grand  Calumet,  to  which  they 
replied,  they  had  no  smoking  dance  ;  this  elated  the  Iroquois 
and  they  began  their  War  dance,  from  the  discovery  of  the 
enemy  to  the  attack  and  scalping  of  the  dead,  and  the  war 
hoop  of  victory.  The  Nahathaways  praised  them.  The 
Iroquois  being  now  proud  of  their  national  dances,  requested 
the  Nahathaways  to  see  their  War  dance,  and  intimating 
they  thought  they  had  none,  which  was  in  a  manner  saying 
they  were  not  warriors. 

I  felt  for  my  old  friends  and  looking  round,  saw  the  smile 
of  contempt  on  the  Hps  of  Spikanoggan  (the  Gun  Case),  a 
fine,  stern  warrior  of  about  fifty  years  of  age,  with  whom  I 
had  been  long  acquainted,  and  whom  I  knew  excelled  in  the 
dance.  I  asked  if  he  intended  to  take  up  the  challenge,  he 
said,  he  had  no  wish  to  show  himself  off  in  dancing  before 
these  strangers  ;  "  You  certainly  do  not  wish  them  to  return 
to  their  own  country  and  report  of  you  as  so  many  women. 
You  Spikanoggan,  your  eye  never  pitied,  nor  your  hand  ever 
spared  an  enemy,  is  the  fittest  man  to  represent  your  country 
men  in  the  War  dance ;  and  show  these  strangers  what  you 
are.  Somewhat  nettled,  he  arose,  put  on  a  light  war  dress, 
and  with  his  large  dagger  in  his  right  hand  he  began  the  War 
dance,  by  the  Scout,  the  Spy,  the  Discovery,  the  return  to 
camp,  the  Council,  the  silent  march  to  the  ambuscade,  the 
war  whoop  of  attack,  the  tumult  of  the  battle,  the  Yells  of 
doubtful  contest  and  the  war  whoop  of  victory  ;  the  pursuit, 
his  breath  short  and  quick  the  perspiration  pouring  down  on 
him  his  dagger  in  the  fugitive,  and  the  closing  war  whoop  of 
the  death  of  his  enemy  rung  through  our  ears.  The  varying 
passions  were  strong]  y  marked  in  his  face,  and  the  whole  was 
performed  with  enthusiasm.  The  perfect  silence,  and  all 
eyes  rivetted  on  him,  showed  the  admiration  of  every  one, 
and  for  which  I  rewarded  him.  The  Iroquois  seemed  lost  in 
surprise,  and  after  a  few  minutes  said,  our  dances  please  our- 


GREAT   WESTERN   FOREST   LANDS     317 

selves  and  also  the  white  people  and  Indians  wherever  we  go, 
but  your  dance  is  war  itself  to  victory  and  to  death.  It  was 
evident  they  were  much  mortified  and  at  length  one  of  them 
remarked  that  he  did  not  scalp  his  enemy  to  which  he  repHed 
in  contempt ;  "  any  old  woman  can  scalp  a  dead  man."  I 
was  much  pleased  with  the  effect  this  dance  had  on  the 
Iroquois,  it  seemed  to  bring  them  to  their  senses,  and  showed 
them  that  the  Indians  of  the  interior  countries  were  fully 
as  good  Warriors,  Hunters,  and  Dancers,  as  themselves.  They 
lost  aU  their  self  conceit  and  arrogance  but  became  plain 
well  behaved  men,  left  off  talking  of  war,  and  turned  to 
hunting.  Having  taken  on  credit  from  the  Traders  their 
necessaries  for  the  winter,  they  separated  into  small  parties 
of  two  or  three,  each  having  about  six  steel  traps  for  beaver, 
of  light  workmanship  with  strong  elastic  springs  of  which  the 
bait  is  the  castorum  of  the  beaver,  caUed  the  beaver  medicine. 
They  chose  their  hunting  grounds  to  the  westward  and  north- 
ward among  the  forests  at  the  east  foot  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. None  of  the  Natives  formed  a  favourable  opinion  of 
the  Iroquois  ;  for  their  whole  number  they  had  only  about 
six  women  with  them,  each  had  a  husband  ;  and  they  could 
not  conceive  how  men  could  Hve  without  women  ;  they  also 
looked  on  them  as  a  dirty  people  for  sleeping  in  their  clothes, 
for  the  dress  that  an  Iroquois  put  on  in  November  he  will 
walk  and  sleep  in  till  the  month  of  April,  and  longer  if  it 
does  not  wear  away,  so  very  contrary  to  the  customs  and 
habits  of  the  Natives. 

The  learned  men  of  Europe  have  their  theories  on  the 
origen  of  the  North  American  Indians  and  from  whence  they 
came,  and  from  want  of  information  have  decided,  and  set  the 
question  at  rest,  by  asserting,  they  all  came  direct  from  the  east 
coast  of  Asia,  a  theory  so  contrary  to  facts,  their  own  tradi- 
tion, and  all  other  movements  since  the  furr  traders  came  first 
among  them,  particularly  of  those  from  Canada.  This  subject  I 
shall  pass  over  at  present,  and  reserve  to  the  end  of  my  travels. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

SMALL   POX  AMONG   THE   INDIANS 

Country  at  the  east  foot  of  the  Mountains — Cumberland  House, 
the  first  Trading  House  of  the  HudsorCs  Bay  Company — 
Trading  on  the  Saskatchewan — Abundance  of  animals — 
Tribes  of  the  Plains — Description  of  early  days  of  trading — 
Buckingham  House  built — Small  pox — Despair  of  the  Indian 
Camps — Traders  distress  for  want  of  provisions — How  the 
small  pox  was  caught — Fur  of  the  wolves  and  dogs  who  fed 
on  the  dead  bodies — Disappearance  of  animals — Trading 
with  the  Peeagan  Indians — Journey  in  search  of  Indians — 
One  Pine — Find  a  camp  of  Indians. 

IT  must  now  be  remembered  that  what  I  now  relate  is 
of  the  great  body  of  dry  land  at  the  east  foot  of  the 
Mountains,  the  northern  part  of  forests  and  the 
southern  of  Plains  through  which  roll  the  Mississoure  and  its 
tributaries,  the  Bow  and  Saskatchewan  rivers  with  their  many 
branches. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  did  not  extend  their  settle- 
ments into  the  interior  country  for  several  years  after  Canada, 
in  1763,  was  ceded  to  England.  Their  first  trading  house 
was  made  by  M^  Samuel  Hearne  in  1774  at  the  sortie  of  the 
Saskatchewan  into  the  Lakes,  and  was  so  well  situated  that  it 
is  continued  to  this  day  under  the  name  of  Cumberland 
House,^  its  situation  has  been  changed  two  or  three  times 

*  Cumberland  House  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  Pine  Island  lake, 
through  which  the  Saskatchewan  river  now  flows  on  its  way  from  the 
Forks  to  Cedar  lake  and  Lake  Winnipeg.  It  is  in  latitude  53°  56'  44"  N., 
longitude  102°  13'  W.  It  was  founded  in  the  autumn  of  1774  by  Samuel 
Hearne  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  came  inland  from  York  Fac- 

3x8 


SMALL   POX  AMONG   THE   INDIANS     319 

from  wood  for  fuel  and  other  purposes,  having  worn  too  far 
from  the  house. 

Previous  to  this  the  Fur  Traders  from  Canada  had  ex- 
tended their  Houses  a  hundred  miles  beyond  up  the 
Saskatchewan,  and  considerable  to  the  northward  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Churchill  River.  About  1776,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  under  M*^  Tomison,  built  a  trading  house  ^ 
about  120  miles  up  the  first  named  River.  At  this  time  the 
Nahathaway  Indians  were  very  numerous  and  engrossed  to 
themselves  all  the  Goods  brought  by  the  Fur  Traders,  the 
Animals  of  every  kind  were  in  abundance.  Provisions  of  all 
kinds  of  meat  so  plentiful,  and  forced  upon  the  Traders, 
that  all  that  could  be  done,  was  to  take  a  httle  from  each, 
to  give  him  a  little  Tobacco,  Ammunition  to  those  that  had 
Guns,  and  Beads,  Awls  &c  to  the  Women,  for  they  claim  a 
right  to  the  dried  Provisions  as  the  Men  do  to  the  Furrs. 

tory  with  eight  white  men  and  two  Indians,  and  on  his  return  to  Hudson 
Bay  in  the  following  year  he  left  it  in  charge  of  Mathew  Cocking,  who  in 
1772  had  made  an  exploratory  trip  inland  to  see  where  the  Canadians  were 
established.  On  this  trip  Cocking  had  learned  that  the  Canadians  as- 
cended the  Saskatchewan  as  far  as  Pine  Island  lake,  and  from  there  they 
either  continued  on  up  the  river,  or  turned  northward  to  Beaver  lake 
and  Churchill  river.  Consequently  a  house,  38  feet  long  and  26  feet  wide, 
was  built  at  the  parting  of  the  two  routes,  and  it  was  found  to  be  so  favour- 
ably situated  that  the  site  has  been  continuously  occupied  by  a  trading 
post  ever  since.  At  the  time  when  Cumberland  House  was  built,  Fro- 
bisher  had  a  post  to  the  north  of  it  on  Beaver  lake,  and  Finlay  or  one  of 
his  associates  had  a  post  up  the  Saskatchewan  river,  but  they  very  soon 
came  down  and  built  beside  their  rivals,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

'  Hudson  House,  apparently  called  after  a  clerk  in  the  employ  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  named  George  Hudson.  It  was  situated  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Saskatchewan  river  in  Sect.  32,  Tp.  46,  R.  3,  west  of 
the  Third  Meridian.  It  was  280  miles  above  Cumberland  and  80  miles 
above  the  Forks,  just  about  the  place  where  the  traveller,  in  ascending 
the  river,  would  emerge  from  the  forest  and  come  out  on  the  great  plains. 
After  having  been  occupied  for  an  uncertain  number  of  years  this  place 
was  abandoned,  and  another  settlement  was  built  twelve  or  fourteen  miles 
farther  down  the  river,  and  within  the  edge  of  the  forest.  This  latter  post 
is  spoken  of  by  Thompson  as  Lower  Hudson  House.  The  position  of  the 
upper  of  the  two  houses,  and  the  Saskatchewan  river  below  it,  is  said  to 
have  been  surveyed  by  Philip  Tumor  in  1777  and  1778. 


320     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

The  great  Tribes  of  the  Plains  were  only  known  by  name 
to  the  Traders ;  and  the  state  of  the  country  as  described  to 
me  by  some  old  furr  traders,  and  particularly  by  Mitchell 
Oman,^  a  native  of  the  Orkney  Islands,  who  had  been  several 
years  in  the  Hudson  Bay  service.  He  was  without  education, 
yet  of  a  superior  mind  to  most  men,  curious  and  inquisitive, 
with  a  very  retentive  memory  Of  those  times  he  said,  "  our 
situation  was  by  no  means  pleasant,  the  Indians  were  very 
numerous,  and  although  by  far  the  greater  part  behaved 
well,  and  were  kindly  to  us,  yet  amongst  such  a  number  there 
will  always  be  bad  men,  and  to  protect  ourselves  from  them 
we  had  to  get  a  respectable  chief  to  stay  with,  and  assist  us 
in  trading,  and  prevent  as  much  as  possible  the  demands  of 
these  Men  ;  there  were  two  houses  from  Canada,  one  was 
under  a  M"^  Cole,  who  by  not  taking  this  precaution  got  into 
a  quarrel  and  was  shot ;  ^  The  next  year  we  went  up  the  River 
about  350  miles  above  Cumberland  House  and  built  a  trading 
house  which  we  named  Buckingham  house,^  and  which  was 

*  Mitchell  Oman  was  a  native  of  Stromness,  and  in  1798-99  was  in  the 
employ  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  as  a  steersman  and  pilot  at  £^0  a 
year.  As  he  could  not  write,  necessary  accounts  were  signed  by  him  with 
his  mark.  Thompson  went  up  the  Saskatchewan  with  him  in  1786,  and  he 
appears  to  have  been  more  or  less  continually  on  the  river  until  1796,  when 
we  find  him  in  charge  of  Cumberland  House.  In  1799  he  went  from  York 
Factory  to  England  ;   but  where  he  was  after  that  is  unknown. 

^  Cole's  trading  post,  called  by  Alexander  Henry  the  younger  Fort 
Montagne  d'Aigle,  was  situated  on  a  low  bottom  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Saskatchewan  river,  nine  or  ten  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Battle  river. 
Cole  was  a  Canadian  trader  who  had  spent  the  winter  of  1779-80  at  this 
place.  In  the  spring,  just  as  he  and  his  associates  were  about  to  leave 
with  their  furs,  he  gave  an  Indian  some  laudanum  in  a  glass  of  liquor 
which  killed  him,  and  in  retaliation  he  was  killed  by  the  other  Indians. 
All  the  other  white  men  were  obliged  to  abandon  everything  and  escape 
as  best  they  could  down  the  river.  Oman  speaks  of  the  occurrence  as  if 
he  had  been  there,  and  as  he  was  an  employee  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, the  Company  probably  had  a  post  beside  the  others  at  the  time. 

'  The  term  "the  next  year  "  would  seem  to  refer  to  the  autumn  of 
1780.  Thompson  quotes  Oman  as  saying  that  they  went  up  the  river 
350  miles  above  Cumberland  and  built  Buckingham  House  ;  but  Buck- 
ingham House  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  its  neighbour.  Fort 


SMALL   POX  AMONG   THE   INDIANS     321 

situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  River,  where  it  passes  thro' 
the  northern  part  of  the  great  Plains,  which  freed  us  from 
being  wholly  among  the  Nahathaways  and  allowed  the  Indians 
of  the  Plains  to  trade  with  us,  and  the  houses  from  Canada. 
But  still  our  situation  was  critical,  and  required  all  our 
prudence  ;  The  following  year,  as  usual,  we  went  to  York 
Factory  with  the  furrs,  and  returned  with  goods  for  the 
winter  trade  ;  we  proceeded  about  150  miles  up  the  River 
to  the  Eagle  Hills,  where  we  saw  the  first  camp  and  some  of 
the  people  sitting  on  the  beach  to  cool  themselves,  when  we 
came  to  them,  to  our  surprise  they  had  marks  of  the  small 
pox,  were  weak  and  just  recovering,  and  I  could  not  help 
saying,  thank  heaven  we  shall  now  get  relief.  For  none  of  us 
had  the  least  idea  of  the  desolation  this  dreadful  disease  had 
done,  until  we  went  up  the  bank  to  the  camp  and  looked  into 
the  tents,  in  many  of  which  they  were  all  dead,  and  the 
stench  was  horrid  ;  Those  that  remained  had  pitched  their 
tents  about  200  yards  from  them  and  were  too  weak  to  move 
away  entirely,  which  they  soon  intended  to  do  ;   they  were  in 

George  of  the  North-West  Company,  were  550  miles  above  Cumberland, 
or  350  miles  above  the  Forks.  The  next  spring  they  took  their  furs  down 
the  river,  and  in  the  autumn  they  had  returned  up  the  river  as  far  as  the 
Eagle  Hills,  near  where  Cole  was  killed,  before  they  met  any  Indians  who 
were  suffering  from  smallpox.  This  must  have  been  in  1781,  for  it  was 
in  the  late  summer  and  autumn  of  that  year  that  this  frightful  disease 
swept  across  the  plains  and  reached  the  Saskatchewan.  According  to  this 
statement  of  Thompson,  Buckingham  House  was  first  built  by  Mitchell 
Oman  in  1780  ;  but  if  so,  it  must  have  been  temporarily  abandoned 
shortly  afterwards,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  sacking  of  York  Factory 
by  the  French  in  1782.  In  1784  the  uppermost  post  of  the  North-West 
Company  on  the  Saskatchewan  appears  to  have  been  that  kept  by  Edward 
Umfreville,  sixty  miles  below  the  site  of  Buckingham  House,  and  when 
Thompson  entered  the  country  of  the  great  plains  in  1786  he  assisted  to 
build  Manchester  House,  forty  miles  below  Umfreville's  post,  and  this  was 
the  most  western  trading  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  the  time. 
Fort  George  was  built  (or  rebuilt)  by  Angus  Shaw  of  the  North- West 
Company  in  1792,  and  both  it  and  Buckingham  House  were  abandoned 
in  1 80 1  in  favour  of  Island  Fort,  eighteen  miles  farther  up  the  river.  It 
was  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  in  or  near  Sect.  19,  Tp.  56,  R.  5, 
west  of  the  Fourth  Meridian. 

X 


322      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

such  a  state  of  despair  and  despondence  that  they  could 
hardly  converse  with  us,  a  few  of  them  had  gained  strength 
to  hunt  which  kept  them  aHve.  From  what  we  could  learn, 
three  fifths  had  died  under  this  disease  ;  Our  Provisions  were 
nearly  out  and  we  had  expected  to  find  ten  times  more  than 
we  wanted,  instead  of  which  they  had  not  enough  for  them- 
selves ;  They  informed  us,  that  as  far  as  they  knew  all  the 
Indians  were  in  the  same  dreadful  state,  as  themselves,  and 
that  we  had  nothing  to  expect  from  them. 

We  proceeded  up  the  River  with  heavy  hearts,  the  Bisons 
were  crossing  the  River  in  herds,  which  gave  us  plenty  of 
provisions  for  the  voyage  to  our  wintering  ground. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  House  instead  of  a  crowd  of 
Indians  to  welcome  us,  all  was  soHtary  silence,  our  hearts 
failed  us.  There  was  no  Indian  to  hunt  for  us ;  before  the 
Indians  fell  sick,  a  quantity  of  dried  provisions  had  been 
collected  for  the  next  summers  voyage,  upon  which  we  had 
to  subsist,  until  at  length  two  Indians  with  their  families 
came  and  hunted  for  us.  These  informed  us,  that  the  Indians 
of  the  forest  had  beaver  robes  in  their  tents  some  of  which 
were  spread  over  the  dead  bodies,  which  we  might  take,  and 
replace  them  by  a  new  blanket  and  that  by  going  to  the  tents 
we  would  render  a  service  to  those  that  were  living  by  fur- 
nishing them  with  tobacco,  ammunition,  and  a  few  other  neces- 
saries and  thus  the  former  part  of  the  winter  was  employed. 
The  bodies  lately  dead,  and  not  destroyed  by  the  Wolves  and 
Dogs,  for  both  devoured  them,  we  laid  logs  over  them  to 
prevent  these  animals. 

From  the  best  information  this  disease  was  caught  by  the 
Chipaways  (the  forest  Indians)  and  the  Sieux  (of  the  Plains) 
about  the  same  time,  in  the  year  1780,  by  attacking  some 
famihes  of  the  white  people,  who  had  it,  and  wearing  their 
clothes.  They  had  no  idea  of  the  disease  and  its  dreadful 
nature. 

From  the  Chipaways  it  extended  over  all  the  Indians  of 


SMALL   POX   AMONG   THE   INDIANS     323 

the  forest  to  it's  northward  extremity,  and  by  the  Sieux  over 
the  Indians  of  the  Plains  and  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
More  Men  died  in  proportion  than  Women  and  Children,  for 
unable  to  bear  the  heat  of  the  fever  they  rushed  into  the 
Rivers  and  Lakes  to  cool  themselves,  and  the  greater  part 
thus  perished.  The  countries  were  in  a  manner  depopulated, 
the  Natives  allowed  that  far  more  than  one  half  had  died, 
and  from  the  number  of  tents  which  remained,  it  appeared 
that  about  three  fifths  had  perished  ;  despair  and  despondency 
had  to  give  way  to  active  hunting  both  for  provisions,  clothing 
and  all  the  necessaries  of  Hfe ;  for  in  their  sickness,  as  usual, 
they  had  offered  allmost  every  thing  they  had  to  the  Good 
Spirit  and  to  the  Bad,  to  preserve  their  lives,  and  were  in  a 
manner  destitute  of  everything.  All  the  Wolves^  and  Dogs 
that  fed  on  the  bodies  of  those  that  died  of  the  Small  Pox 
lost  their  hair  especially  on  the  sides  and  belly,  and  even 
for  six  years  after  many  Wolves  were  found  in  this  condition 
and  their  furr  useless.     The  Dogs  were  mostly  killed. 

With  the  death  of  the  Indians  a  circumstance  took  place 
which  never  has,  and  in  all  probability,  never  will  be  accounted 
for.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  before  that  dreadful 
disease  appeared  among  the  Indians  they  were  numerous,  and 
the  Bison,  Moose,  Red,  and  other  Deer  more  so  in  proportion 
and  Provisions  of  Meat,  both  dried  and  fresh  in  abundance. 
Of  this  all  the  Traders  and  Indians  were  fuUy  sensible,  and  it 
was  noted  by  the  Traders  and  Natives,  that  at  the  death  of 
the  latter,  and  there  being  thus  ^educed  to  a  small  number, 
the  numerous  herds  of  Bison  and  Deer  also  disappeared  both 
in  the  Woods  and  in  the  Plains,  and  the  Indians  about 
Cumberland  House  declared  the  same  of  the  Moose,  and  the 
Swans,  Geese  and  Ducks  with  the  Gulls  no  longer  frequented 
the  Lakes  in  the  same  number  they  used  to  do  ;  and  where 
they  had  abundance  of  eggs  during  the  early  part  of  the 
Summer,  they  had  now  to  search  about  to  find  them.     As  I 

*  Canis  occidentalis  Richardson.     [E.  A.  P.] 


324     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

was  not  in  the  country  at  this  time  I  can  only  give  the 
assertion  of  the  Traders  and  the  Natives,  w^ho  could  have  no 
interest  in  relating  this  sad  state  of  the  country.  In  the 
early  part  of  September  1786  I  entered  these  countries  and 
from  that  time  can  speak  from  my  own  personal  knowledge. 

In  the  following  October,  six  men  and  myself,  were  fitted 
out  with  a  small  assortment  of  goods,  to  find  the  Peeagan 
Indians  and  winter  with  them  :  to  induce  them  to  hunt  for 
furrs,  and  make  dried  Provisions ;  to  get  as  many  as  possible 
to  come  to  the  houses  to  trade,  and  to  trade  the  furrs  of  those 
that  would  not  come.  Each  of  us  had  a  Horse,  and  some  had 
two  furnished  by  ourselves.  Our  road  lay  through  a  fine 
country  with  slight  undulations  of  ground,  too  low  to  be 
called  HiUs,  everywhere  clothed  with  fine  short  grass  and 
hummocks,  or  islands  of  wood,  almost  wholly  of  Aspin  and 
small,  but  straight,  growth.  About  the  tenth  day  we  came 
to  the  "  One  Pine."  This  had  been  a  fine  stately  tree  of 
two  fathoms  girth,  growing  among  a  patch  of  Aspins,  and 
being  all  alone,  without  any  other  pines  for  more  than  a 
hundred  miles,  had  been  regarded  with  superstitious  reverence. 
When  the  small  pox  came,  a  few  tents  of  Peeagans  were  camp- 
ing near  it,  in  the  distress  of  this  sickness,  the  master  of  one 
of  the  tents  applied  his  prayers  to  it,  to  save  the  lives  of 
himself  and  family,  burned  sweet  grass  and  offered  upon  its 
roots,  three  horses  to  be  at  it's  service,  all  he  had,  the  next 
day  the  furniture  of  his  horses  with  his  Bow  and  Quiver  of 
Arrows,  and  the  third  morning,  having  nothing  more,  a  Bowl 
of  Water.  The  disease  was  now  on  himself  and  he  had  to 
lie  down.  Of  his  large  family  only  himself,  one  of  his  wives, 
and  a  Boy  survived.  As  soon  as  he  acquired  strength  he 
took  his  horses,  and  all  his  other  offerings  from  the  "  Pine 
Tree,"  then  putting  his  little  Axe  in  his  belt,  he  ascended 
the  Pine  Tree  to  about  two  thirds  of  it's  height,  and  there 
cut  it  off,  out  of  revenge  for  not  having  saved  his  family  ; 
when  we  passed  the  branches  were  withered  and  the  tree 
going  to  decay. 


SMALL   POX   AMONG   THE   INDIANS     325 

For  three  and  twenty  days  we  marched  over  fine  grounds 
looking  for  the  Indians  without  seeing  any  other  animals  than 
a  chance  Bull  Bison,  from  the  killing  of  a  few  we  procured 
our  provisions. 

We  found  a  Camp  on  the  south  side  of  the  Bow  River 
from  its  tender  grass  the  favorite  haunts  of  the  Bisons,  yet 
this  camp  had  only  provisions  by  daily  hunting,  and  our 
frequent  removals  led  us  over  a  large  tract  of  country,  on 
which  we  rarely  found  the  Bisons  to  be  numerous,  and  various 
camps  with  whom  we  had  intelHgence  were  in  the  same 
state  with  the  Camp  we  lived  with.  It  is  justly  said,  that 
as  Mankind  decrease,  the  Beasts  of  the  earth  increase,  but  in 
this  calamity  the  natives  saw  aU  decrease  but  the  Bears. 
And  dried  provisions  of  meat  before  so  abundant  that  they 
could  not  be  traded,  were  now  sought  as  much  as  furrs. 
The  enquiries  of  inteUigent  Traders  into  this  state  of  the 
Animals  from  the  Natives  were  to  no  purpose.  They  merely 
answered,  that  the  Great  Spirit  having  brought  this  calamity 
on  them,  had  also' taken  away  the  Animals  in  the  same  pro- 
portion as  they  were  not  wanted,  and  intimating  the  Bisons 
and  Deer  were  made  and  preserved  solely  for  their  use ;  and 
if  there  were  no  Men  there  would  be  no  Animals.  The 
Bisons  are  vagrant,  wandering  from  place  to  place  over  the 
great  Plains,  but  the  Moose  and  other  Deer  are  supposed  to 
keep  within  a  range  of  ground,  whicJa  they  do  not  willingly 
leave,  but  all  were  much  lessened  in  number.  A  few  years 
after  I  passed  over  nearly  the  same  grounds  and  found  the 
Bisons  far  more  numerous.^ 

^  This  statement  gives  us  some  idea  of  the  position  of  the  place  where 
Thompson  spent  the  winter  with  the  Piegan  in  1787-88,  for  the  only 
other  occasion  on  which  he  visited  the  Bow  river  was  in  the  autumn  of 
1800,  when  he  was  living  at  Rocky  Mountain  House  on  the  Saskatchewan 
river.  On  that  occasion  he  explored  the  country  south  of  the  Bow  river 
from  the  mouth  of  Highwood  river  westward  to  "  The  Gap  "  at  the  foot  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  so  that  we  may  infer  that  he  also  spent  his  first 
winter  on  the  plains  in  this  same  vicinity. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

PLAIN   INDIANS 

Plain  Indians — Stone  Indians — Fall  Indians — -Sussees — Peeagans 
— Blood  Indians — Blackfeet — Saukamappee^s  account  of 
former  times — War  of  Peeagans  and  Snake  Indians — Assist- 
ance of  Nahathaways — Preparations  for  battle — Story  of 
Saukamappee^s  life — Small  pox  caught  from  Snake  Indians 
by  the  Peeagans — Treachery  of  Snake  Indians — War  Council 
— Two  Indians  killed  by  a  grizled  bear — Burning  the  bear 
— Continue  journey  —  Consultation  of  Indians  —  Fifty 
warriors  sent  to  examine  the  country — Return  of  the  warriors 
— Story  of  encounter  with  the  Snake  Indians  told  by  Sauka- 
mappee'^s  son — Reproof  of  young  men  by  Saukamappee. 

THE  Indians  of  the  Plains  are  of  various  Tribes  and 
of  several  languages  which  have  no  affinity  with 
each  other. 
The  Stone  Indians  ^  are  a  large  tribe  of  the  Sieux  Nation, 
and  speak  a  dialect,  differing  little  from  the  Sieux  tongue, 
the  softest  and  most  pleasing  to  the  ear  of  all  the  Indian 
languages.  They  have  always  been,  and  are,  in  strict  alliance 
with  the  Nahathaways,  and  their  hunting  grounds  are  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Saskatchewan  and  eastward  and  southward 

^  The   Stone  Indians  or  Assiniboin  are  a   tribe  of  the  Sioux  which 

separated  from  the  parent  family  before  the  advent  of  white  men,  and 

went  northward  and   formed  an   alUance  with  the  Cree.     In  191 1  there 

were  1,393  of  them  in  Canada,,  and  in  1904  there  were  1,234  ^'^^  ^^e  United 

States,  making  a  total  of   ifozj,  or   nearly    500    less  than  Thompson's 

estimate  of  a  century  ago. 

326 


PLAIN    INDIANS  327 

to  the  upper  part  of  the  Red  River,  and  their  number  400 
Tents  each  containing  about  eight  souls,  in  all  3200. 

The  Fall  Indians,^  their  former  residence  was  on  the 
Rapids  of  the  Saskatchewan,  about  100  miles  above  Cumber- 
land House  ;  they  speak  a  harsh  language,  which  no  other 
tribe  attempts  to  learn,  in  number  about  70  tents  at  ten 
souls  to  each  tent.  They  are  a  tall  well  made  muscular 
people,  their  countenances  manly,  but  not  handsome.  Their 
Chief  was  of  a  bad  character,  and  brought  them  into  so  many 
quarrels  with  their  allies,  they  had  to  leave  their  country 
and  wander  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Missisourie,  to  near  the 
Mandane  villages.  The  Sussees,^  are  about  ninety  tents  and 
may  number  about  650  souls.  They  are  brave  and  manly, 
tall  and  well  limbed,  but  their  faces  somewhat  flat,  and  cannot 
be  called  handsome.  They  speak  a  very  guttural  tongue 
which  no  one  attempts  to  learn. 

The  next  of  the  three  tribes  of  the  Peeagan,  called 
Peeaganakoon,  the  Blood  Indians  (Kennekoon)  and  the  Black- 
feets  (Saxeekoon) '  these  all  speak  the  same  tongue,  and  their 
hunting  grounds  [are]  contiguous  to  each  other ;  these  were 
formerly  on  the  Bow  River,  but  now  [extend]  southward  to 
the  Missisourie. 

All  these  Plains,  which  are  now  the  hunting  grounds  of 
the  above  Indians,  were  formerly  in  full  possession  of  the 

^  The  Fall  Indians  or  Atsina,  a  detached  branch  of  the  Arapaho,  who 
were  formerly  allies  of  the  Blackfeet.  None  of  them  are  now  living  in 
Canada.     See  note  on  p.  224. 

"^  See  note  on  p.  304. 

^  The  Piegan,  Bloods,  and  Blackfeet  are  the  three  tribal  subdivisions 
of  the  Blackfoot  or  Siksika  nation.  They  belong  to  the  Algonquin  lin- 
guistic family,  which  includes  the  Cree,  Chippewa,  and  many  other  tribes. 
In  historic  times  they  have  always  been  inhabitants  of  the  great  plains. 
In  1911  there  were  2,337  ^^  Canada,  and  in  1909,^2,195  in  the  United 
States,  making  a  total  of  4,532.  The  account  given  on  this  and  the  fol- 
lowing pages  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  accurate  accounts  of  this 
people  that  has  ever  been  presented,  and  the  story  of  the  old  man  Sauka- 
mappee  carries  the  history  of  the  Piegan  back  considerably  beyond  any 
previous  authentic  record. 


328      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Kootanaes/  northward. ;  the  next  the  Saleesh  ^  and  their  allies, 
and  the  most  southern,  the  Snake  Indians^  and  their  tribes, 
now  driven  across  the  Mountains.  The  Peeagan  in  whose 
tent  I  passed  the  winter  was  an  old  man  of  at  least  75  to  80 
years  of  age  ;  his  height  about  six  feet,  two  or  three  inches, 
broad  shoulders,  strong  Hmbed,  his  hair  gray  and  plentiful, 
forehead  high  and  nose  prominent,  his  face  sHghtly  marked 
with  the  small  pox,  and  alltogether  his  countenance  mild, 
and  even,  sometimes  playfull ;  although  his  step  was  firm 
and  he  rode  with  ease,  he  no  longer  hunted,  this  he  left  to  his 
sons  ;  his  name  was  Saukamappee  (Young  Man)  ;  his  account 
of  former  times  went  back  to  about  1730  and  was  as  follows. 

The  Peeagans  were  always  the  frontier  Tribe,  and  upon 
whom  the  Snake  Indians  made  their  attacks,  these  latter 
were  very  numerous,  even  without  their  allies ;  and  the 
Peeagans  had  to  send  messengers  among  us  to  procure  help. 
Two  of  them  came  to  the  camp  of  my  father,  and  I  was  then 
about  his  age  (pointing  to  a  Lad  of  about  sixteen  years)  he 
promised  to  come  and  bring  some  of  his  people,  the  Nahatha- 
ways  with  him,  for  I  am  myself  of  that  people,  and  not  of 
those  with  whom  I  am.  My  father  brought  about  twenty 
warriors  with  him.  There  were  a  few  guns  amongst  us,  but 
very  little  ammunition,  and  they  were  left  to  hunt  for  the 
famiHes ;  Our  weapons  was  a  Lance,  mostly  pointed  with 
iron,  some  few  of  stone,  A  Bow  and  a  quiver  of  Arrows ; 
the  Bows  were  of  Larch,  the  length  came  to  the  chin  ;  the 
quiver  had  about  fifty  arrows,  of  which  ten  had  iron  points, 

^  See  p.  304. 

*  The  Saleesh,  or  Salish,  are  a  linguistic  family  inhabiting  the  south- 
east portion  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  much  of  the  southern  mainland  of 
British  Columbia.  Those  of  the  interior  are  divided  into  the  Lillooet, 
Shuswap,  Okinagan,  Flatheads,  &c.  Many  of  these  were  encountered  by 
Thompson  in  his  travels  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  1909,  in  both 
Canada  and  the  United  States,  the  coast  Salish  numbered  8,474,  and  those 
of  the  interior  10,378,  or  a  total  of  18,852. 

'  A  name  applied  to  many  different  bodies  of  Shoshonean  Indians, 
but  most  persistently  to  those  of  eastern  Oregon. 


PLAIN    INDIANS  329 

the  others  were  headed  with  stone.  He  carried  his  knife  on 
his  breast  and  his  axe  in  his  belt.  Such  was  my  fathers  weapons, 
and  those  with  him  had  much  the  same  weapons.  I  had  a 
Bow  and  Arrows  and  a  knife,  of  which  I  was  very  proud. 
We  came  to  the  Peeagans  and  their  allies.  They  were  camped 
in  the  Plains  on  the  left  bank  of  the  River  (the  north  side) 
and  were  a  great  many.  We  were  feasted,  a  great  War  Tent 
was  made,  and  a  few  days  passed  in  speeches,  feasting  and 
dances.  A  war  chief  was  elected  by  the  chiefs,  and  we  got 
ready  to  march.  Our  spies  had  been  out  and  had  seen  a 
large  camp  of  the  Snake  Indians  on  the  Plains  of  the  Eagle 
Hill,  and  we  had  to  cross  the  River  in  canoes,  and  on  rafts, 
which  we  carefully  secured  for  our  retreat.  When  we  had 
crossed  and  numbered  our  men,  we  were  about  350  warriors 
(this  he  showed  by  counting  every  finger  to  be  ten,  and  hold- 
ing up  both  hands  three  times  and  then  one  hand)  they  had 
their  scouts  out,  and  came  to  meet  us.  Both  parties  made  a 
great  show  of  their  numbers,  and  I  thought  that  they  were 
more  numerous  than  ourselves. 

After  some  singing  and  dancing,  they  sat  down  on  the 
ground,  and  placed  their  large  shields  before  them,  which 
covered  them  :  We  did  the  same,  but  our  shields  were  not 
so  many,  and  some  of  our  shields  had  to  shelter  two  men. 
Theirs  were  all  placed  touching  each  other ;  their  Bows 
were  not  so  long  as  ours,  but  of  better  wood,  and  the  back 
covered  with  the  sinews  of  the  Bisons  which  made  them  very 
elastic,  and  their  arrows  went  a  long  way  and  whizzed  about 
us  as  balls  do  from  guns.  They  were  all  headed  with  a  sharp, 
smooth,  black  stone  (flint)  which  broke  when  it  struck  any- 
thing. Our  iron  headed  arrows  did  not  go  through  their 
shields,  but  stuck  in  them ;  On  both  sides  several  were 
wounded,  but  none  lay  on  the  ground ;  and  night  put  an 
end  to  the  battle,  without  a  scalp  being  taken  on  either 
side,  and  in  those  days  such  was  the  result,  unless  one  party 
was  more  numerous  than  the  other.     The  great  mischief  of 


330     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

war  then,  was  as  now,  by  attacking  and  destroying  small 
camps  of  ten  to  thirty  tents,  which  are  obliged  to  separate 
for  hunting  :  I  grew  to  be  a  man,  became  a  skilfull  and 
fortunate  hunter,  and  my  relations  procured  me  a  Wife.  She 
was  young  and  handsome  and  we  were  fond  of  each  other. 
We  had  passed  a  winter  together,  when  Messengers  came 
from  our  allies  to  claim  assistance. 

By  this  time  the  affairs  of  both  parties  had  much  changed  ; 
we  had  more  guns  and  iron  headed  arrows  than  before  ; 
but  our  enemies  the  Snake  Indians  and  their  alHes  had  Miss- 
tutim  (Big  Dogs,  that  is  Horses)  on  which  they  rode,  swift 
as  the  Deer,  on  which  they  dashed  at  the  Peeagans,  and  with 
their  stone  Pukamoggan  knocked  them  on  the  head,  and  they 
had  thus  lost  several  of  their  best  men.  This  news  we  did 
not  well  comprehend  and  it  alarmed  us,  for  we  had  no  idea 
of  Horses  and  could  not  make  out  what  they  were.  Only 
three  of  us  went  and  I  should  not  have  gone,  had  not  my 
wife's  relations  frequently  intimated,  that  her  father's  medi- 
cine bag  would  be  honored  by  the  scalp  of  a  Snake  Indian. 
When  we  came  to  our  allies,  the  great  War  Tent  [was  made] 
with  speeches,  feasting  and  dances  as  before  ;  and  when  the  War 
Chief  had  viewed  us  all  it  was  found  between  us  and  the  Stone 
Indians  we  had  ten  guns  and  each  of  us  about  thirty  balls,  and 
powder  for  the  war,  and  we  were  considered  the  strength  of  the 
battle.  After  a  few  days  march  our  scouts  brought  us  word 
that  the  enemy  was  near  in  a  large  war  party,  but  had  no 
Horses  with  them,  for  at  that  time  they  had  very  few  of 
them.  When  we  came  to  meet  each  other,  as  usual,  each 
displayed  their  numbers,  weapons  and  shiel[d]s,  in  aU  which 
they  were  superior  to  us,  except  our  guns  which  were  not 
shown,  but  kept  in  their  leathern  cases,  and  if  we  had  shown 
[them],  they  would  have  taken  them  for  long  clubs.  For  a 
long  time  they  held  us  in  suspense  ;  a  taU  Chief  was  forming 
a  strong  party  to  make  an  attack  on  our  centre,  and  the 
others  to  enter  into  combat  with  those  opposite  to  them ; 


PLAIN    INDIANS  331 

We  prepared  for  the  battle  the  best  we  could.  Those  of  us 
who  had  guns  stood  in  the  front  line,  and  each  of  us  pbad] 
two  balls  in  his  mouth,  and  a  load  of  powder  in  his  left  hand 
to  reload. 

We  noticed  they  had  a  great  many  short  stone  clubs  for 
close  combat,  which  is  a  dangerous  weapon,  and  had  they 
made  a  bold  attack  on  us,  we  must  have  been  defeated  as 
they  were  more  numerous  and  better  armed  than  we  were, 
for  we  could  have  fired  our  guns  no  more  than  twice  ;  and 
were  at  a  loss  what  to  do  on  the  wide  plain,  and  each  Chief 
encouraged  his  men  to  stand  firm.  Our  eyes  were  all  on  the 
tall  Chief  and  his  motions,  which  appeared  to  be  contrary  to 
the  advice  of  several  old  Chiefs,  all  this  time  we  were  about 
the  strong  flight  of  an  arrow  from  each  other.  At  length  the 
tall  chief  retired  and  they  formed  their  long  usual  line  by 
placing  their  shields  on  the  ground  to  touch  each  other,  the 
shield  having  a  breadth  of  full  three  feet  or  more.  We  sat 
down  opposite  to  them  and  most  of  us  waited  for  the  night 
to  make  a  hasty  retreat.  The  War  Chief  was  close  to  us, 
anxious  to  see  the  effect  of  our  guns.  The  lines  were  too  far 
asunder  for  us  to  make  a  sure  shot,  and  we  requested  him 
to  close  the  line  to  about  sixty  yards,  which  was  gradually 
done,  and  lying  flat  on  the  ground  behind  the  shields,  we 
watched  our  opportunity  when  they  drew  their  bows  to  shoot 
at  us,  their  bodies  were  then  exposed  and  each  of  us,  as 
opportunity  offered,  fired  with  deadly  aim,  and  either  killed, 
or  severely  wounded,  every  one  we  aimed  at. 

The  War  Chief  was  highly  pleased,  and  the  Snake  Indians 
finding  so  many  killed  and  wounded  kept  themselves  behind 
their  shields ;  the  War  Chief  then  desired  we  would  spread 
ourselves  by  two's  throughout  the  line,  which  we  did,  and  our 
shots  caused  consternation  and  dismay  along  their  whole  line. 
The  battle  had  begun  about  Noon,  and  the  Sun  was  not  yet 
half  down,  when  we  perceived  some  of  them  had  crawled 
away  from  their  shields,  and  were  taking  to  flight.     The  War 


332      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Chief  seeing  this  went  along  the  Hne  and  spoke  to  every  Chief 
to  keep  his  Men  ready  for  a  charge  of  the  whole  line  of  the 
enemy,  of  which  he  would  give  the  signal ;  this  was  done  by 
himself  stepping  in  front  with  his  Spear,  and  calling  on  them 
to  follow  him  as  he  rushed  on  their  line,  and  in  an  instant 
the  whole  of  us  followed  him,  the  greater  part  of  the  enemy 
took  to  flight,  but  some  fought  bravely  and  we  lost  more 
than  ten  killed  and  many  wounded  ;  Part  of  us  pursued,  and 
killed  a  few,  but  the  chase  had  soon  to  be  given  over,  for  at 
the  body  of  every  Snake  Indian  killed,  there  were  five  or  six 
of  us  trying  to  get  his  scalp,  or  part  of  his  clothing,  his  weapons, 
or  something  as  a  trophy  of  the  battle.  As  there  were  only 
three  of  us,  and  seven  of  our  friends,  the  Stone  Indians,,  we 
did  not  interfere,  and  got  nothing. 

The  next  morning  the  War  Chief  made  a  speech,  praising 
their  bravery,  and  telling  them  to  make  a  large  War  Tent 
to  commemorate  their  victory,  to  which  they  directly  set  to 
work  and  by  noon  it  was  finished. 

The  War  Chief  now  called  on  all  the  other  Chiefs  to 
assemble  their  men  and  come  to  the  Tent.  In  a  short  time 
they  came,  all  those  who  had  lost  relations  had  their  faces 
blackened ;  those  who  killed  an  enemy,  or  wished  to  be 
thought  so,  had  their  faces  blackened  with  red  streaks  on  the 
face,  and  those  who  had  no  pretensions  to  the  one,  or  the 
other,  had  their  faces  red  with  ochre.  We  did  not  paint  our 
faces  until  the  War  Chief  told  us  to  paint  our  foreheads  and 
eyes  black,  and  the  rest  of  the  face  of  dark  red  ochre,  as  having 
carried  guns,  and  to  distinguish  us  from  all  the  rest.  Those 
who  had  scalps  now  came  forward  with  the  scalps  neatly 
streched  on  a  round  willow  with  a  handle  to  the  frame  ;  they 
appeared  to  be  more  than  fifty,  and  excited  loud  shouts  and 
the  war  whoop  of  victory.  When  this  was  over  the  War 
Chief  told  them  that  if  any  one  had  a  right  to  the  scalp  of 
an  enemy  as  a  war  trophy  it  ought  to  be  us,  who  with  our 
guns  had  gained  the  victory,  when  from  the  numbers  of  our 


PLAIN   INDIANS  333 

enemies  we  were  anxious  to  leave  the  field  of  battle  ;  and 
that  ten  scalps  must  be  given  to  us ;  this  was  soon  collected, 
and  he  gave  to  each  of  us  a  Scalp.  All  those  whose  faces 
were  blackened  for  the  loss  of  relations,  or  friends,  now  came 
forward  to  claim  the  other  scalps  to  be  held  in  their  hands 
for  the  benefit  of  their  departed  relations  and  friends ;  this 
occasioned  a  long  conversation  with  those  who  had  the  scalps ; 
at  length  they  came  forward  to  the  War  Chief,  those  who  had 
taken  the  trophy  from  the  head  of  the  enemy  they  had  killed, 
said  the  Souls  of  the  enemy  that  each  of  us  has  slain,  belong 
to  us,  and  we  have  given  them  to  our  relations  which  are  in 
the  other  world  to  be  their  slaves,  and  we  are  contented. 
Those  who  had  scalps  taken  from  the  enemy  that  were  found 
dead  under  the  shields  were  at  a  loss  what  to  say,  as  not  one 
could  declare  he  had  actually  slain  the  enemy  whose  scalp  he 
held,  and  yet  wanted  to  send  their  Souls  to  be  the  slaves  of 
their  departed  relations.  This  caused  much  discussion  ;  and 
the  old  Chiefs  decided  it  could  not  be  done,  and  that  no  one 
could  send  the  soul  of  an  enemy  to  be  a  slave  in  the  other 
world,  except  the  warrior  who  actually  killed  him  ;  the  scalps 
you  hold  are  trophies  of  the  Battle,  but  they  give  you  no 
right  to  the  soul  of  the  enemy  from  whom  it  is  taken,  he 
alone  who  kills  an  enemy  has  a  right  to  the  soul,  and  to  give 
it  to  be  a  slave  to  whom  he  pleases.  This  decision  did  not 
please  them,  but  they  were  obliged  to  abide  by  it.  The  old 
Chiefs  then  turned  to  us,  and  praising  our  conduct  in  the 
battle  said,  each  of  you  have  slain  two  enemies  in  battle,  if 
not  more,  you  will  return  to  your  own  people,  and  as  you 
are  young  men,  consult  with  the  old  men  to  whom  you  shall 
give  the  souls  of  those  you  have  slain  ;  until  which  let  them 
wander  about  the  other  world.  The  Chiefs  wished  us  to 
stay,  and  promised  to  each  of  us  a  handsome  young  wife, 
and  [to]  adopt  us  as  their  sons,  but  we  told  them  we  were 
anxious  to  see  our  relations  and  people,  after  which,  perhaps 
we   might   come  back.     After  all  the  war  ceremonies  were 


334     DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

over,  we  pitched  away  in  large  camps  with  the  women  and 
children  on  the  frontier  of  the  Snake  Indian  country,  hunting 
the  Bison  and  Red  Deer  which  were  numerous,  and  we  were 
anxious  to  see  a  horse  of  which  we  had  heard  so  much.  At 
last,  as  the  leaves  were  falling  we  heard  that  one  was  killed 
by  an  arrow  shot  into  his  belly,  but  the  Snake  Indian  that  rode 
him,  got  away  ;  numbers  of  us  went  to  see  him,  and  we  all 
admired  him,  he  put  us  in  mind  of  a  Stag  that  had  lost  his 
horns ;  and  we  did  not  know  what  name  to  give  him.  But 
as  he  was  a  slave  to  Man,  like  the  dog,  which  carried  our 
things ;   he  was  named  the  Big  Dog.^ 

We  set  off  for  our  people,  and  on  the  fourth  day  came  to  a 
camp  of  Stone  Indians,  the  relations  of  our  companions,  who 
received  us  well  and  we  staid  a  few  day[s].  The  Scalps  were 
placed  on  poles,  and  the  Men  and  Women  danced  round 
them,  singing  to  the  sound  of  Rattles,  Tambours  and  flutes. 
When  night  came,  one  of  our  party,  in  a  low  voice,  repeated 
to  the  Chief  the  narrative  of  the  battle,  which  he  in  a  loud 
voice  walking  about  the  tents,  repeated  to  the  whole  camp. 
After  which,  the  Chiefs  called  those  who  followed  them  to  a 
feast,  and  the  battle  was  always  the  subject  of  the  conversa- 
tion and  driving  the  Snake  Indians  to  a  great  distance.  There 
were  now  only  three  of  us  to  proceed,  and  upon  enquiry, 
[we]  learned  a  camp  of  our  people,  the    Nahathaways   were 

^  We  have  here,  for  the  first  time,  a  circumstantial  account  of  the  use 
of  horses  by  the  Snake  Indians  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  of  the 
first  sight  of  one  of  these  animals  by  any  of  the  Blackfeet,  and  the  clear 
inference  that  the  Blackfeet  obtained  their  horses  first  from  the  Snake 
Indians,  and  not  from  the  Indians  to  the  south  of  them  east  of  the  moun- 
tains. Thompson's  date  of  1730  as  the  time  of  the  Blackfeet-Snake 
war,  when  the  Blackfeet  obtained  their  first  horses,  must  be  approximately 
correct,  for  in  1754,  when  the  same  Indians  were  visited  by  Anthony 
Hendry  from  York  Factory,  the  Blackfeet  had  very  many  horses,  and 
their  neighbours,  the  Assiniboin,  had  a  few.  Horses  had  been  fairly 
abundant  in  America  in  post-Tertiary  times,  but  like  the  mammoth  and 
the  mastodon  had  become  extinct,  and  it  was  not  until  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century  that  they  were  reintroduced  on  this  continent  by  the 
Spaniards, 


PLAIN   INDIANS  335 

a  days  journey's  from  us.  and  in  the  evening  we  came  to 
them,  and  all  our  news  had  to  be  told,  with  the  usual  songs 
and  dances ;  but  my  mind  was  wholly  bent  on  making  a 
grand  appearance  before  my  Wife  and  her  Parents,  and  pre- 
senting to  her  father  the  scalp  I  had  to  ornament  his  Medi- 
cine Bag  :  and  before  we  came  to  the  camp  we  had  dressed 
ourselves,  and  painted  each  other's  faces  to  appear  to  the 
best  advantage,  and  were  proud  of  ourselves.  On  seeing 
some  of  my  friends  I  got  away  and  went  to  them,  and  by 
enquiries  learned  that  my  parents  had  gone  to  the  low 
countries  of  the  Lakes,  and  that  before  I  was  three  Moons 
away  my  wife  had  given  herself  to  another  man,  and  that  her 
father  could  not  prevent  her,  and  they  were  all  to  the  north- 
ward there  to  pass  the  winter. 

At  this  unlooked  for  news  I  was  quite  disheartened ;  I 
said  nothing,  but  my  heart  was  swollen  with  anger  and  re- 
venge, and  I  passed  the  night  scheming  mischief.  In  the 
morning  my  friends  reasoned  with  me  upon  my  vexation 
about  a  worthless  woman,  and  that  it  was  beneath  a  warrior 
anger,  there  were  no  want  of  women  to  replace  her,  and  a 
better  wife  could  be  got.  Others  said,  that  if  I  had  staid 
with  my  wife  instead  of  running  away  to  kill  Snake  Indians, 
nothing  of  this  would  have  happened.  My  anger  moderated, 
I  gave  my  Scalp  to  one  of  my  friends  to  give  to  my  father, 
and  renouncing  my  people,  I  left  them,  and  came  to  the 
Peeagans  who  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome;  and  upon  my 
informing  them  of  my  intention  to  remain  with  them  the 
great  Chief  gave  me  his  eldest  daughter  to  be  my  wife,  she 
is  the  sister  of  the  present  Chief,  and  as  you  see,  now  an  old 
woman. 

The  terror  of  that  battle  and  of  our  guns  has  prevented 
any  more  general  battles,  and  our  wars  have  since  been 
carried  by  ambuscade  and  surprize,  of  small  camps,  in  which 
we  have  greatly  the  advantage,  from  the  Guns,  arrow  shods 
of  iron,  long  knives,  flat  bayonets  and  axes  from  the  Traders. 


336     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

While  we  have  these  weapons,  the  Snake  Indians  have  none, 
but  what  few  they  sometimes  take  from  one  of  our  small 
camps  which  they  have  destroyed,  and  they  have  no  Traders 
among  them.  We  thus  continued  to  advance  through  the 
fine  plains  to  the  Stag  River  ^  when  death  came  over  us  all, 
and  swept  away  more  than  half  of  us  by  the  Small  pox,  of 
which  we  knew  nothing  until  it  brought  death  among  us. 
We  caught  it  from  the  Snake  Indians."  Our  Scouts  were  out 
for  our  security,  when  some  returned  and  informed  us  of  a 
considerable  camp  which  was  too  large  to  attack  and  some- 
thing very  suspicious  about  it ;  from  a  high  knowl  they  had 
a  good  view  of  the  camp,  but  saw  none  of  the  men  hunting, 
or  going  about ;  there  were  a  few  Horses,  but  no  one  came 
to  them,  and  a  herd  of  Bisons  [were]  feeding  close  to  the 
camp  with  other  herds  near.  This  somewhat  alarmed  us  as 
a  stratagem  of  War  ;  and  our  Warriors  thought  this  camp 
had  a  larger  not  far  off ;  so  that  if  this  camp  was  attacked 
which  was  strong  enough  to  offer  a  desperate  resistance,  the 
other  would  come  to  their  assistance  and  overpower  us  as 
had  been  once  done  by  them,  and  in  which  we  lost  many 
of  our  men. 

The  council  ordered  the  Scouts  to  return  and  go  beyond 
this  camp,  and  be  sure  there  was  no  other.  In  the  mean 
time  we  advanced  our  camp ;  The  scouts  returned  and  said 
no  other  tents  were  near,  and  the  camp  appeared  in  the  same 
state  as  before.  Our  Scouts  had  been  going  too  much  about 
their  camp  and  were  seen  ;  they  expected  what  would  follow, 
and  all  those  that  could  walk,  as  soon  as  night  came  on,  went 
away.  Next  morning  at  the  dawn  of  day,  we  attacked  the 
Tents,  and  with  our  sharp  liat  daggers  and  knives,  cut  through 
the  tents   and   entered   for  the   fight  ;     but   our  war  whoop 

1  This  refers  undoubtedly  to  the  Red  Deer  River,  which  joins  with 
the  Bow  River  to  form  the  South  Saskatchewan. 

^  Here  is  a  definite  statement  and  account  of  how  smallpox  was 
carried  from  the  Snake  Indians  to  the  Blackfeet,  and  doubtless  also  to 
their  allies,  the  Cree  and  Assiniboin. 


PLAIN   INDIANS  337 

instantly  stopt,  our  eyes  were  appalled  with  terror ;  there 
was  no  one  to  fight  with  but  the  dead  and  the  dying,  each  a 
mass  of  corruption.  We  did  not  touch  them,  but  left  the 
tents,  and  held  a  council  on  what  was  to  be  done.  We  all 
thought  the  Bad  Spirit  had  made  himself  master  of  the  camp 
and  destroyed  them.  It  was  agreed  to  take  some  of  the  best 
of  the  tents,  and  any  other  plunder  that  was  clean  and  good, 
which  we  did,  and  also  took  away  the  few  Horses  they  had, 
and  returned  to  our  camp. 

The  second  day  after  this  dreadful  disease  broke  out  in 
our  camp,  and  spread  from  one  tent  to  another  as  if  the  Bad 
Spirit  carried  it.  We  had  no  belief  that  one  Man  could  give 
it  to  another,  any  more  than  a  wounded  Man  could  give  his 
wound  to  another.  We  did  not  suffer  so  much  as  those  that 
were  near  the  river,  into  which  they  rushed  and  died.  We 
had  only  a  Httle  brook,  and  about  one  third  of  us  died,  but 
in  some  of  the  other  camps  there  were  tents  in  which  every 
one  died.  When  at  length  it  left  us,  and  we  moved  about 
to  find  our  people,  it  was  no  longer  with  the  song  and  the 
dance  ;  but  with  tears,  shrieks,  and  howHngs  of  despair  for 
those  who  would  never  return  to  us.  War  was  no  longer 
thought  of,  and  we  had  enough  to  do  to  hunt  and  make 
provision  for  our  famiHes,  for  in  our  sickness  we  had  consumed 
all  our  dried  provisions ;  but  the  Bisons  and  Red  Deer  were 
also  gone,  we  did  not  see  one  half  of  what  was  before,  whither 
they  had  gone  we  could  not  tell,  we  believed  the  Good  Spirit 
had  forsaken  us,  and  allowed  the  Bad  Spirit  to  become  our 
Master.  What  Httle  we  could  spare  we  offered  to  the  Bad 
Spirit  to  let  us  alone  and  go  to  our  enemies.  To  the  Good 
Spirit  we  offered  feathers,  branches  of  trees,  and  sweet 
smeUing  grass.  Our  hearts  were  low  and  dejected,  and  we 
shall  never  be  again  the  same  people.  To  hunt  for  our 
famiHes  was  our  sole  occupation  and  kill  Beavers,  Wolves  and 
Foxes  to  trade  our  necessaries ;  and  we  thought  of  War  no 
more,  and  perhaps  would  have  made  peace  with  them  for 

Y 


338     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

they  had  suffered  dreadfully  as  well  as  us  and  had  left  all  this 
fine  country  of  the  Bow  River  to  us. 

We  were  quiet  for  about  two  or  three  winters,  and 
although  we  several  times  saw  their  young  men  on  the  scout 
we  took  no  notice  of  them,  as  we  all  require  young  men,  to 
look  about  the  country  that  our  famihes  may  sleep  in  safety 
and  that  we  may  know  where  to  hunt.  But  the  snake  Indians 
are  a  bad  people,  even  their  allies  the  Saleesh  and  Kootanaes 
cannot  trust  them,  and  do  not  camp  with  them,  no  one 
beHeves  what  they  say,  and  [they]  are  very  treacherous ; 
every  one  says  they  are  rightly  named  Snake  People,  for  their 
tongue  is  forked  like  that  of  a  Rattle  Snake,  from  which  they 
have  their  name.  I  think  it  was  about  the  third  falling  of 
the  leaves  of  the  trees,  that  five  of  our  tents  pitched  away 
to  the  valleys  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  up  a  branch  of  this 
River  (the  Bow)  to  hunt  the  Big  Horn  Deer  (Mountain 
Sheep)  as  their  horns  make  fine  large  bowls,  and  are  easily 
cleaned  ;  they  were  to  return  on  the  first  snow.  All  was 
quiet  and  we  waited  for  them  until  the  snow  lay  on  the 
ground,  when  we  got  alarmed  for  their  safety ;  and  about 
thirty  warriors  set  off  to  seak  them.  It  was  only  two  days 
march,  and  in  the  evening  they  came  to  the  camp,  it  had 
been  destroyed  by  a  large  party  of  Snake  Indians,  who  left 
their  marks,  of  snakes  heads  painted  black  on  sticks  they  had 
set  up.  The  bodies  were  all  there  with  the  Women  and 
Children,  but  scalped  and  partly  devoured  by  the  Wolves 
and  Dogs. 

The  party  on  their  return  related  the  fate  of  our  people, 
and  other  camps  on  hearing  the  news  came  and  joined  us. 
A  War  Tent  was  made  and  the  Chiefs  and  Warriors  assembled, 
the  red  pipes  were  filled  with  Tobacco,  but  before  being 
lighted  an  old  Chief  arose,  and  beckoning  to  the  Man  who 
had  the  fire  to  keep  back,  addressed  us,  saying,  I  am  an  old 
man,  my  hair  is  white  and  [I]  have  seen  much  :  formerly 
we  were  healthy  and  strong  and  many  of  us,  now  we  are  few 


PLAIN    INDIANS  339 

to  what  we  were,  and  the  great  sickness  may  come  again. 
We  were  fond  of  War,  even  our  Women  flattered  us  to  war, 
and  nothing  was  thought  of  but  scalps  for  singing  and  dancing. 
Now  think  of  what  has  happened  to  us  all,  by  destroying 
each  other  and  doing  the  work  of  the  bad  spirit ;  the  Great 
Spirit  became  angry  with  our  making  the  ground  red  with 
blood  :  he  called  to  the  Bad  Spirit  to  punish  and  destroy  us, 
but  in  doing  so  not  to  let  one  spot  of  the  ground,  to  be  red 
with  blood,  and  the  Bad  Spirit  did  it  as  we  all  know.  Now 
we  must  revenge  the  death  of  our  people  and  make  the 
Snake  Indians  feel  the  effects  of  our  guns,  and  other  weapons  ; 
but  the  young  women  must  all  be  saved,  and  if  any  has  a 
babe  at  the  breast  it  must  not  be  taken  from  her,  nor  hurt  ; 
all  the  Boys  and  Lads  that  have  no  weapons  must  not  be 
killed,  but  brought  to  our  camps,  and  be  adopted  amongst 
us,  to  be  our  people,  and  make  us  more  numerous  and  stronger 
than  we  are.  Thus  the  Great  Spirit  will  see  that  when  we 
make  war  we  kill  only  those  who  are  dangerous  to  us,  and 
make  no  more  ground  red  with  blood  than  we  can  help,  and 
the  Bad  Spirit  will  have  no  more  power  on  us.  Everyone 
signified  his  assent  to  the  old  Chief,  and  since  that  time,  it 
has  sometimes  been  acted  on,  but  more  with  the  Women 
than  the  Boys,  and  while  it  weakens  our  enemies  makes  us 
stronger.  A  red  pipe  was  now  lighted  and  the  same  old 
Chief  taking  it,  gave  three  whiffs  to  the  Great  Spirit  praying 
him  to  be  kind  to  them  and  not  forsake  them,  then  three 
whiffs  to  the  Sun,  the  same  to  the  Sky,  the  Earth  and  the 
four  Winds  ;  the  Pipe  was  passed  round,  and  other  pipes 
lighted.  The  War  Chief  then  arose,  and  said  Remember  my 
friends  that  while  we  are  smoking  the  bodies  of  our  friends 
and  relations  are  being  devoured  by  wolves  and  Dogs,  and 
their  Souls  are  sent  by  the  Snake  Indians  to  be  the  slaves  of 
their  relations  in  the  other  world.  We  have  made  no  war 
on  them  for  more  than  three  summers,  and  we  had  hoped  to 
live  quietly  until  our  young  men  had  grown  up,  for  we  are 


340      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

not  many  as  we  used  to  be  ;  but  the  Snake  Indians,  that  race 
of  Hars,  whose  tongues  are  like  rattle  snakes,  have  already 
made  war  on  us,  and  we  can  no  longer  be  quiet.  The  country 
where  they  now  are  is  but  little  known  to  us,  and  if  they  did 
not  feel  themselves  strong  they  would  not  have  dared  to 
have  come  so  far  to  destroy  our  people.  We  must  be 
courageous  and  active,  but  also  cautious ;  and  my  advice  is, 
that  three  scout  parties,  each  of  about  ten  warriors  with  a 
Chief  at  their  head,  take  three  different  directions,  and 
cautiously  view  the  country,  and  not  go  too  far,  for  enough 
of  our  people  are  aheady  devoured  by  wolves  and  our  business 
is  revenge,  without  loosing  our  people. 

After  five  days,  the  scout  parties  returned  without  seeing 
the  camp  of  an  enemy,  or  any  fresh  traces  of  them.  Our 
War  Chief  Kootanae  Appe  was  now  distressed,  he  had  ex- 
pected some  camp  would  have  been  seen,  and  he  concluded, 
the  Snake  Indians  had  gone  to  the  southward  to  their  aUies, 
to  show  the  scalps  they  had  taken  and  make  their  songs  and 
dances  for  the  victory,  and  in  his  speech  denounced  constant 
war  on  them  until  they  were  exterminated.  Affairs  were  in 
this  state  when  we  arrived,  and  the  narrative  [of  the]  old 
man  having  given  us  the  above  information,  [he]  lighted  his 
pipe ;  and  smoking  it  out  said,  the  Snake  Indians  are  no 
match  for  us ;  they  have  no  guns  and  are  no  match  for  us, 
but  they  have  the  power  to  vex  us  and  make  us  afraid  for  the 
small  hunting  parties  that  hunt  the  small  deer  for  dresses 
and  the  Big  Horn  for  the  same  and  for  Bowls.  They  keep 
us  always  on  our  guard. 

A  few  days  after  our  arrival,  the  death  cry  was  given,  and 
the  Men  all  started  out  of  the  Tents,  and  our  old  tent  mate 
with  his  gun  in  his  hand.  The  cry  was  from  a  young  man 
who  held  his  Bow  and  Arrows,  and  showed  one  of  his  thighs 
torn  by  a  grizled  bear,  and  which  had  killed  two  of  his  com- 
panions. The  old  Man  called  for  his  powder  horn  and  shot 
bag,  and  seeing  the  priming  of  his  gun  in  good  order,  he  set 


PLAIN    INDIANS  341 

off  with  the  young  man  for  the  Bear,  which  was  at  a  short 
distance.  They  found  him  devouring  one  of  the  dead.  The 
moment  he  saw  them  he  sat  up  on  his  hind  legs,  showing  them 
his  teeth  and  long  clawed  paws,  in  this,  his  usual  position, 
to  defend  his  prey,  his  head  is  a  bad  mark,  but  his  breast 
offers  a  direct  mark  to  the  heart,  through  which  the  old  Man 
sent  his  ball  and  killed  him.  The  two  young  men  who  were 
destroyed  by  the  Bear,  had  each,  two  iron  shod  Arrows,  and 
the  camp  being  near,  they  attacked  the  bear  for  his  skin  and 
claws.  But  unfortunately  their  arrows  stuck  in  the  bones  of 
his  ribs,  and  only  irritated  him  ;  he  sprung  on  the  first,  and 
with  one  of  his  dreadful  fore  paws  tore  out  his  bowels  and  three 
of  his  ribs ;  the  second  he  seized  in  his  paws,  and  almost 
crushed  him  to  death,  threw  him  down,  when  the  third 
Indian  hearing  their  cries  came  to  their  assistance  and  sent 
an  arrow,  which  only  wounded  him  in  the  neck,  for  which 
the  Bear  chased  him,  and  slightly  tore  one  of  his  thighs. 
The  first  poor  fellow  was  still  alive  and  knew  his  parents,  in 
whose  arms  he  expired.  The  Bear,  for  the  mischief  he  had 
done  was  condemned  to  be  burnt  to  ashes,  the  claws  of  his 
fore  paws,  very  sharp  and  long,  the  young  man  wanted  for  a 
collar  but  it  was  not  granted  ;  those  that  burned  the  Bear 
watched  until  nothing  but  ashes  remained. 

The  two  young  men  were  each  wrapped  up  separately  in 
Bison  robes,  laid  side  by  side  on  the  ground,  and  covered  with 
logs  of  wood  and  stones,  in  which  we  assisted.  By  the  advice 
of  the  civil  chief  in  his  speeches  in  the  early  part  of  every 
night ;  we  pitched  southward  to  about  eighty  miles  beyond 
the  Bow  River.  We  had  a  few  showers  of  snow,  which  soon 
melted,  the  herds  of  Bisons  were  sufficient  for  daily  use,  but 
not  enough  for  dried  provisions.  However  a  council  was 
held,  and  as  they  did  not  intend  to  go  farther  south  towards 
the  Snake  Indians,  but  after  hunting  about  where  they  were 
for  a  Moon,  return  to  the  northward  to  trade  their  furrs, 
whether  it  would  not  be  adviseable  to  know  if  their  enemies 


342     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

were  near  them  or  not.  After  consultation  it  was  agreed  to 
send  out  a  war  chief,  with  about  fifty  warriors  to  examine 
the  country  for  a  few  days  journey.  The  Chief  soon  collected 
his  warriors  and  having  examined  their  arms,  and  [having 
seen]  that  every  one  had  two  pair  of  shoes,  some  dried  pro- 
visions and  other  necessaries,  in  the  evening  the  principal 
War  Chief  addressed  the  Chief  at  the  head  of  the  party  ; 
reminding  him  that  the  warriors  now  accompaning  him  would 
steadily  follow  him,  that  they  were  sent  to  destroy  their 
enemies,  not  to  be  killed  themselves,  and  made  the  slaves  of 
their  enemies,  that  he  must  be  wise  and  cautious  and  bring 
back  the  Warriors  entrusted  to  his  care.  Among  them  was 
the  eldest  son  of  the  Old  Man  in  whose  tent  we  lived.  They 
all  marched  off  very  quietly,  as  if  for  hunting.  After  they 
were  gone  ;  the  old  man  said  it  was  not  a  war  party,  but  one 
of  those  they  frequently  sent,  under  guidance  of  those  who 
had  showed  courage  and  conduct  in  going  to  war,  for  we 
cannot  afford  to  lose  our  people,  we  are  too  few,  and  these 
expeditions  inure  our  men  to  long  marches  and  to  suffer 
hunger  and  thirst.  At  the  end  of  about  twenty  days  they 
returned  with  about  thirty  live  Horses  in  tolerable  condition, 
and  fifteen  fine  mules,  which  they  had  brought  away  from  a 
large  camp  of  Snake  Indians.  The  old  Man's  son  gave  him 
a  long  account  of  the  business.  On  the  sixth  evening  the 
scouts  ahead  came  and  informed  the  Chief,  that  we  must  be 
near  a  camp,  as  they  had  seen  horses  feeding  :  night  came 
on,  and  we  went  aside  to  a  wood  of  cotton  and  poplar  trees 
on  the  edge  of  a  brook,  in  the  morning  some  of  us  climbed 
the  trees  and  passed  the  day,  but  saw  nothing.  In  the  night 
we  went  higher  up  the  brook,  and  as  it  was  shoal,  we  walked 
in  it  for  some  distance,  to  another  wood,  and  there  lay  down. 
Early  the  next  morning,  a  few  of  us  advanced  through  the 
wood,  but  we  had  not  gone  far,  before  we  heard  the  women 
with  their  dogs  come  for  wood  for  fuel.  Some  of  us  returned 
to  the  Chief,  and  the  rest  watched  the  women,  it  was  near 


PLAIN   INDIANS  343 

midday  before  they  all  went  away,  they  had  only  stone  axes 
and  stone  clubs  to  break  the  wood ;  they  took  only  what 
was  dry,  and  cut  none  down.  Their  number  showed  us  the 
camp  must  be  large,  and  sometimes  some  of  them  came  so 
close  to  us,  that  we  were  afraid  of  being  discovered.  The 
Chief  now  called  us  round  him,  and  advised  us  to  be  very 
cautious,  as  it  was  plain  we  were  in  the  vicinity  of  a  large 
camp,  and  manage  our  little  provisions,  for  we  must  not 
expect  to  get  any  more  until  we  retreated  ;  if  we  fire  a  gun 
at  the  Deer  it  will  be  heard  ;  and  if  we  put  an  arrow  in  a 
deer  and  he  gets  away,  and  they  see  the  deer,  it  will  alarm 
them,  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to  get  away.  My  intention 
is  to  have  something  to  show  our  people,  and  when  we  re- 
treat, take  as  many  horses  as  we  can  with  us,  to  accomplish 
which,  we  must  have  a  fair  opportunity,  and  in  the  mean 
time  be  hungry,  which  we  can  stand  some  time,  as  we  have 
plenty  of  water  to  drink.  We  were  getting  tired,  and  our 
solace  was  of  an  evening  to  look  at  the  horses  and  mules.  At 
length  he  said  to  us  to  get  ready,  and  pointing  to  the  top  of  the 
Mountains,  [said]  see  the  blue  sky  is  gone  and  a  heavy  storm 
is  there,  which  will  soon  reach  us  ;  and  so  it  did  :  About 
sunset  we  proceeded  thro'  the  wood,  to  the  horses,  and  with 
the  lines  we  carried,  each  helping  the  other,  we  soon  had  a 
horse  or  a  mule  to  ride  on.  We  wanted  to  drive  some  with 
us,  but  the  Chief  would  not  allow  it ;  it  was  yet  daylight 
when  we  left  the  wood,  and  entered  the  plains,  but  the  Storm 
of  Wind  was  very  strong  and  on  our  backs,  and  at  the  gallop, 
or  trot,  so  as  not  to  tire  our  horses,  we  continued  to  mid- 
night, when  we  came  to  a  brook,  with  plenty  of  grass,  and 
let  them  get  a  good  feed.  After  which  we  held  on  to  sun 
rising,  when  seeing  a  fine  low  ground,  we  staid  the  rest  of  the 
day,  keeping  watch  until  night,  when  we  continued  our 
journey.     The  storm  lasted  two  days  and  greatly  helped  us. 

The  old  Man  told  his  son,  who,  in  his  relation  had  inti- 
mated he  did  not  think  the  Chief  very  brave ;    that  it  was 


844      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

very  fortunate  that  he  was  under  such  a  Chief,  who  had  acted 
so  wisely  and  cautiously ;  for  had  he  acted  otherwise  not  one 
of  you  would  have  returned,  and  some  young  men  coming 
into  the  tent  whom  he  supposed  might  have  the  same  opinions 
as  his  son,  he  told  them  ;  "  that  it  required  no  great  bravery 
for  a  War  Party  to  attack  a  small  camp,  which  they  were  sure 
to  master ;  but  that  it  required  great  courage  and  conduct, 
to  be  for  several  days  in  the  face  of  a  large  camp  undis- 
covered ;  and  each  of  you  to  bring  away  a  horse  from  the 
enemy,  instead  of  leaving  your  own  scalps."  ^ 

^  This  is  the  end  of  Saukamapee's  story,  the  chief  features  of  which 
are  the  mode  of  fighting  on  foot  before  fire-arms  were  introduced,  the 
introduction  of  fire  -  arms,  probably  obtained  from  York  Factory  on 
Hudson  Bay,  the  introduction  of  the  horse  among  the  Blackfeet,  and  the 
terrible  epidemic  of  smallpox  of  1781. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

PEEAGANS 

Land  of  the  Peeagans,  Blackfeet  and  Blood  Indians — Manners 
and  Customs  of  the  Peeagan  Civil  and  Military  Chiefs — 
The  war  chief  Kootanaea-p-pi — Appearance  of  Peeagans — 
Wear  no  caps — Thickness  of  skull — Origen — Apathy — 
Adornment  of  the  men — Ornaments  of  the  women — Appear- 
ance and  dress  of  the  women — Dress  of  men — Marriages — 
Polygamy — Punishment  of  adultery — Elopements — Poonokow 
— Treatment  of  the  Dead — Character — Fear  of  disgrace — 
Punishment  of  children. 

THE  Peeagans,  with  the  tribes  of  the  Blood,  and  Black- 
feet  Indians,  who  all  speak  the  same  language,  are 
the  most  powerful  of  the  western  and  northern 
plains,  and  by  right  of  conquest  have  their  west  boundary  to 
the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  southward  to  the  north 
branches  of  the  Missisourie,  eastward  for  about  three  hundred 
miles  from  the  Mountains  and  northward  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  Saskatchewan.  Other  tribes  of  their  allies  also  at  times 
hunt  on  part  of  the  above,  and  a  great  extent  of  the  Plains, 
and  these  great  Plains  place  them  under  different  circum- 
stances, and  give  them  peculiar  traits  of  character  from  those 
that  hunt  in  the  forests.  These  latter  live  a  peaceable  life, 
with  hard  labor,  to  procure  provisions  and  clothing  for  their 
famiHes,  in  summer  they  make  use  of  canoes,  and  in  winter 
haul  on  sleds  all  they  have,  in  their  frequent  removals  from 
place  to  place.  On  the  other  hand  the  Indians  of  the  Plains 
make  no  use  of  canoes,  frequently  stay  many  days  in  a  place, 

345 


346      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  when  they  remove  have  horses  and  dogs,  both  in  summer 
and  winter  to  carry  their  baggage  and  provisions  :  they  have 
no  hard  labor,  but  have  powerful  enemies  which  keep  them 
constantly  on  the  watch  and  are  never  secure  but  in  large 
camps.  The  manners  and  customs  of  all  these  tribes  of  the 
Plains,  are  much  alike,  and  in  giving  those  of  the  Peeagans, 
it  may  serve  for  all  the  others.  Being  the  frontier  tribe, 
they  lead  a  more  precarious  and  watchful  Hfe  than  other 
tribes,  and  from  their  boyhood  are  taught  the  use  of  arms, 
and  to  be  good  warriors,  they  become  martial  and  more 
moral  than  the  others,  and  many  of  them  have  a  chivalrous 
bearing,  ready  for  any  enterprise.  They  have  a  civil  and 
military  Chief.  The  first  was  called  Sakatow,  the  orator,  and 
[the  office]  appeared  hereditary  in  his  family,  as  his  father  had 
been  the  civil  Chief,  and  his  eldest  son  was  to  take  his  place 
at  his  death  and  occasionally  acted  for  him.  The  present 
chief  was  now  about  sixty  years  of  age  (1800)  about  five 
feet  ten  inches  in  height,  remarkably  well  made,  and  in  his 
youth  a  very  handsome  man.  He  was  always  well  dressed, 
and  his  insignia  of  office,  was  the  backs  of  two  fine  Otter 
skins  covered  with  mother  of  pearl,  which  from  behind  his 
neck  hung  down  his  breast  to  below  the  belt ;  When  his 
son  acted  for  him,  he  always  had  this  ornament  on  him.  In 
every  council  he  presided,  except  one  of  War.  He  had 
couriers  which  went  from  camp  to  camp,  and  brought  the 
news  of  how  things  were,  of  where  the  great  herds  of  Bisons 
were  feeding,  and  of  the  direction  they  were  taking.  The 
news  thus  collected,  about  two  or  three  hours  after  sun  set, 
walking  about  the  camp,  he  related  in  a  loud  voice,  making 
his  comments  on  it,  and  giving  advice  when  required.  His 
language  was  fluent,  and  he  was  admired  for  his  eloquence, 
but  not  for  his  principles  and  his  advice  could  not  be  depended 
on,  being  sometimes  too  violent,  and  more  Hkely  to  produce 
quarrels  than  to  allay  them  yet  his  influence  was  great. 

The   War   Chief   was    Kootanae   Appe    (Kootanae   Man) 


PEEAGANS  347 

his  stature  was  six  feet  six  inches,  tall  and  erect,  he  appeared 
to  be  of  Bone  and  Sinew  with  no  more  flesh,  than  absolutely- 
required  ;  his  countenance  manly,  but  not  stern,  his  features 
prominent,  nose  somewhat  aquiline,  his  manners  kind  and 
mild ;  his  word  was  sacred,  he  was  both  loved  and  respected, 
and  his  people  often  wished  him  to  take  a  more  active  part 
in  their  affairs  but  he  confi,ned  himself  to  War,  and  the  care 
of  the  camp  in  which  he  was,  which  was  generally  of  fifty  to 
one  hundred  tents,  generally  a  full  day's  march  nearer  to  the 
Snake  Indians  than  any  other  camp.  It  was  supposed  he 
looked  on  the  civil  Chief  with  indifference  as  a  garrulous  old 
man  more  fit  for  talking  than  any  thing  else,  and  they  rarely 
camped  together.  Kootanae  Appe  by  his  five  wives  had 
twenty  two  sons  and  four  daughters.  His  grown  up  sons 
were  as  tall  as  himself  and  the  others  promised  the  same. 
He  was  friendly  to  the  White  Men,  and  in  his  speeches  re- 
minded his  people  of  the  great  benefit  of  [which]  the  Traders 
were  to  them,  and  that  it  was  by  their  means  they  had  so 
many  useful  articles,  and  guns  for  hunting,  and  to  conquer 
their  enemies.  He  had  acquired  his  present  station  and 
influence  from  his  conduct  in  war.  He  was  utterly  averse  to 
small  parties,  except  for  horse  stealing,  which  too  often  brought 
great  hardships  and  loss  of  life.  He  seldom  took  the  field 
with  less  than  two  hundred  warriors  but  frequently  with 
many  more ;  his  policy  was  to  get  as  many  of  the  allies  to 
join  him  as  possible,  by  which  all  might  have  a  share  of  the 
honour  and  plunder,  and  thus  avoid  those  jealousies  and 
envyings  so  common  amongst  the  Chiefs.  He  praised  every 
Chief  that  in  the  least  deserved  it,  but  never  appeared  to 
regard  fame  as  worth  his  notice  yet  always  took  care  to 
deserve  it,  for  all  his  exped[it]ions  were  successful. 

The  Peeagans  and  their  allies  of  the  Plains,  with  us,  would 
not  be  counted  handsome.  From  infancy  they  are  exposed 
to  the  weather  and  have  not  that  softness  of  expression  in 
their  countenances  which  is  so  pleasing,  but  they  are  a  fine 


348      DAVID   THOMPSON'S  NARRATIVE 

race  of  men,  tall  and  muscular,  with  manly  features,  and 
intelligent  countenances,  the  eye  large,  black  and  piercing, 
the  nose  full  and  generally  straight,  the  teeth  regular  and 
white,  the  hair  long,  straight  and  black ;  their  beards,  appa- 
rently would  be  equal  to  those  of  white  men,  did  they  not 
continually  attempt  to  eradicate  it ;  for  when  [they  are] 
grown  old  and  no  longer  pluck  out  the  hairs  they  have  more 
beard  than  could  naturally  be  expected.  Their  color  is  some- 
thing like  that  of  a  Spaniard  from  the  south  of  Spain,  and 
some  like  that  of  the  French  of  the  south  of  France,  and  this 
comparison  is  drawn  from  seeing  them  when  bathing  together. 

In  questioning  them  of  their  origen  and  from  whence 
they  formerly  came  they  appear  to  have  no  tradition  beyond 
the  time  of  their  great  granfathers,  that  they  can  depend  on, 
and  in  their  idle  time,  sometimes  [this]  is  the  subject  of  their 
conversation.  They  have  no  tradition  that  they  ever  made 
use  of  canoes,  yet  their  old  men  always  point  out  the  North 
East  as  the  place  they  came  from,  and  their  progress  has 
always  been  to  the  south  west.  Since  the  Traders  came  to 
the  Saskatchewan  River,  this  has  been  their  course  and 
progress  for  the  distance  of  four  hundred  miles  from  the 
Eagle  Hills  to  the  Mountains  near  the  Mississourie  but  this 
rapid  advance  may  be  mostly  attributed  to  their  being  armed 
with  guns  and  iron  weapons.  Of  their  origen,  they  think 
themselves  and  all  the  animals  to  be  indigenus,  and  from  all 
times  existing  as  at  present. 

The  Indians  are  noticed  for  their  apathy,  this  is  more 
assumed  than  real ;  in  public  he  wishes  it  to  appear  that 
nothing  can  affect  him,  but  in  private  he  feels  and  expresses 
himself  sensible  to  every  thing  that  happens  to  him  or  to  his 
family.  After  all  his  endeavours  to  attain  some  object  in 
hunting,  or  other  matters,  and  cannot  do  it,  he  says,  the 
"  Great  Spirit  will  have  it  so,"  in  the  same  manner  as  we  say 
"  It  is  the  will  of  Providence."  Civilized  Men  have  many 
things  to  engage  their  attention  and  to  take  up  their  time, 


PEEAGANS  349 

but  the  Indian  is  very  different,  hunting  is  his  business,  not 
his  amusement,  and  even  in  this  he  is  Hmited  for  want  of 
ammunition  hence  his  whole  life  is  in  the  enjoyments  of  his 
passions,  desires  and  affections  contracted  within  a  small  circle, 
and  in  which  it  is  often  intense. 

The  Men  are  proud  of  being  noticed  and  praised  as  good 
hunters,  warriors,  or  any  other  masculine  accompHshment, 
and  many  of  the  young  men  as  fine  dandies  as  they  can  make 
themselves.  I  have  known  some  of  them  to  take  full  an  hour 
to  paint  their  faces  with  White,  Red,  Green,  Blue  and  Yellow, 
or  part  of  these  colors,  with  their  looking  glasses,  and  advising 
one  another,  how  to  lay  on  the  different  colors  in  stripes, 
circles,  dots  and  other  fancies ;  then  stand  for  part  of  the 
day  in  some  place  of  the  camp  to  be  admired  by  the  women. 
When  married  all  this  painting  is  at  an  end,  and  if  they  will 
paint  it  [is]  only  with  one  color,  as  red,  or  yellow  ochre. 

The  country  affords  no  ornaments  for  the  men,  but 
collars  of  the  claws  of  the  fore  paws  of  the  Bear.  The  Women, 
as  usual  with  all  women  are  fond  of  ornaments,  but  the 
country  produces  none,  except  some  of  the  teeth  of  the  deer, 
which  are  pierced,  strung  together,  and  form  bracelets  for 
the  wrists  and  sometimes  a  fillet  of  sweet  scented  grass  round 
the  fore  head,  the  rest  of  their  ornaments  are  from  the 
Traders,  as  Beads  of  various  colours,  Rings,  Hawks,  Bells,  and 
Thimbles.  Scarce  any  has  ear  rings,  and  never  any  in  the 
nose. 

On  the  first  arrival  of  a  stranger  in  a  camp,  who  has  never 
seen  them,  he  may  not  find  the  young  women  so  handsome 
as  he  could  wish,  for  there  is  a  line  of  beauty  in  women  which 
is  somewhat  different  in  every  people  and  nation,  but  where, 
if  the  features  are  regular,  we  soon  get  habituated.  These 
women  have  in  general  good  features,  though  hardened,  by 
constant  exposure  to  the  weather ;  their  dress  is  of  deer  skin 
mostly  of  the  Antelope,  white  and  pliant  which  is  fastened 
over  the  shoulders,  belted  round  the  waist  and  descends  to 


350     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

their  ancles,  or  to  the  ground,  show  them  to  advantage. 
The  dress  of  the  Men  is  very  simple,  a  pair  of  long  leggins, 
which  come  to  the  ground  and  would  reach  to  the  breast, 
are  secured  by  a  belt,  over  which  the  rest  hangs  down.  Some 
few  wear  a  shirt  of  dressed  leather,  and  both  sexes  wrap  a 
Bison  robe  round  them.  Their  walk  is  erect,  light  and  easy, 
and  may  be  said  to  be  graceful.  When  on  the  plains  in 
company  with  white  men,  the  erect  walk  of  the  Indian  is 
shown  to  great  advantage.  The  Indian  with  his  arms  folded 
in  his  robe  seems  to  ghde  over  the  ground ;  and  the  white 
people  seldom  in  an  erect  posture,  their  bodies  swayed  from 
right  to  left,  and  some  with  their  arms,  as  if  to  saw  a  passage 
through  the  air.  I  have  often  been  vexed  at  the  comparison 
The  young  men  seldom  marry  before  they  are  fully  grown, 
about  the  age  of  22  years  or  more,  and  the  women  about 
sixteen  to  eighteen.  The  older  women  who  are  related  to 
them  are  generally  the  match  makers,  and  the  parties  come 
together  without  any  ceremony.  On  the  marriage  of  the 
young  men,  two  of  them  form  a  tent  until  they  have  families, 
in  which  also  reside  the  widowed  Mothers  and  Aunts.  Poly- 
gamy is  allowed  and  practised,  and  the  Wife  more  frequently 
than  her  husband  [is]  the  cause  of  it,  for  when  a  family 
comes  a  single  wife  can  no  longer  do  the  duties  and  labor 
required  unless  she,  or  her  husband,  have  two  widowed 
relations  in  their  tent,  and  which  frequently  is  not  the  case ; 
and  a  second  Wife  is  necessary,  for  they  have  to  cook,  take 
care  of  the  meat,  split  and  dry  it ;  procure  all  the  wood  for 
fuel,  dress  the  skins  into  soft  leather  for  robes  and  clothing ; 
which  they  have  also  to  make  and  mend,  and  other  duties 
which  leaves  scarce  any  part  of  the  day  to  be  idle,  and  in 
removing  from  place  to  place  the  taking  down  of  the  tents 
and  putting  them  up  are  all  performed  by  women.  Some  of 
the  Chiefs  have  from  three  to  six  wives,  for  until  a  woman  is 
near  fifty  years  of  age,  she  is  sure  to  find  a  husband.  A 
young  Indian  with  whom   I   was   acquainted  and  who  was 


PEEAGANS  351 

married  often  said,  he  would  never  have  more  than  one  wife, 
he  had  a  small  tent,  and  one  of  his  aunts  to  help  his  wife; 
Nearly  two  years  afterwards  passing  by  where  he  was,  I 
entered  his  tent,  and  [found]  his  first  wife,  as  usual,  sitting 
beside  him,  and  on  the  other  side  three  fine  women  in  the 
prime  of  life,  and  as  many  elderly  of  the  sex,  in  the  back 
part.  When  I  left  the  tent,  he  also  came  out,  and  telling 
me  not  to  laugh  at  him  for  what  he  formerly  said  of  having 
only  one  wife  and  he  would  explain  to  me  how  he  had  been 
obliged  to  take  three  more.  "  After  I  last  saw  you  a  friend 
of  mine,  whom  I  regarded  and  loved  as  a  brother  would  go 
to  war,  he  got  wounded,  returned,  and  shortly  after  died, 
relying  on  my  friendship,  when  dying  he  requested  his  parents 
to  send  his  two  wives  to  me,  where  he  was  sure  they  would 
be  kindly  treated  and  become  my  wives.  His  parents  brought 
them  to  me,  with  the  dying  request  of  my  friend,  what  could 
I  do  but  grant  the  claim  of  my  friend,  and  make  them  my 
wives.  Those  are  the  two  that  sit  next  the  door.  The  other 
one  was  the  wife  of  a  cousin  who  was  also  a  friend  of  mine, 
he  fell  sick  and  died,  and  bequeathed  his  wife  to  my  care. 
The  old  women  at  the  back  of  the  tent  are  their  relations.  I 
used  to  hunt  the  Antelopes,  their  skins  make  the  finest  leather 
for  clothing,  although  the  meat  is  not  much,  yet  it  is  good 
and  sufficient  for  us ;  but  now  I  have  given  that  over,  and  to 
maintain  seven  women  and  myself  am  obliged  to  confine 
myself  to  hunting  the  Red  Deer  and  the  Bison,  which  give 
us  plenty  of  meat,  tho'  the  leather  is  not  so  good." 

The  old  Indian  (Sarkamappee)  whom  I  have  already 
mentioned,  pointed  out  to  me,  a  curious  kind  of  polygamy. 
Besides  his  old  wives,  on  the  other  side  of  the  tent,  sat  three 
young  women  of  about  sixteen  or  eighteen  years  of  age, 
whom  about  two  months  before,  had  been  given  to  him  for 
wives  by  their  parents ;  I  noticed  that  he  treated  them  as  if 
they  were  his  daughters ;  he  told  me  that  they  were  placed  with 
him  on  trust.     "  You  must  know  [that]  among  us  are  families 


352      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

far  more  numerous  and  powerful,  than  other  famiKes  and  of 
which  some  of  the  relatives  make  a  bad  use  of  their  influence, 
and  oppress  those  that  are  weak,  tho'  as  brave  as  themselves. 
Two  of  these  young  women  are  sisters  and  the  whole  three 
were  betrothed  to  three  young  men  ;  and  would  have  been 
given  to  them,  had  not  three  Men  of  two  powerful  famiHes 
who  have  each  aheady  four  or  five  wives,  demanded  that 
these  young  women  should  be  given  to  them  ;  as  their  parents 
are  not  powerful  to  prevent  this,  these  three  young  women 
have  been  given  to  me,  and  in  my  tent  they  will  remain  until 
this  camp  separates,  and  they  go  some  distance,  when  they 
will  be  given  to  the  young  men  for  whom  they  are  intended ; 
And  thus  each  of  them  will  regard  me  as  their  father.  He 
has  always  been  a  friend  to  the  weak,  and  has  thereby  gained 
great  influence. 

Some  time  after,  I  met  an  old  Warrior  whom  I  had  known 
for  a  long  time,  I  spoke  to  him  of  what  Sarkamappee  had  told 
me  of  the  three  young  women  in  his  tent,  and  that  I  had 
never  known  such  a  custom  among  the  Indians  of  the  Woods, 
and  enquired  if  it  was  common  among  those  of  the  plains. 
He  said  "  it  is  not  common,  yet  it  happens  too  often  ;  "  Had 
one  of  those  Men  who  wanted  those  young  women  come  to 
Sarkamappee  tent,  and  demanded  them,  what  would  he  have 
done."  "  If  any  had  been  fool  enough  to  have  done  so  he 
would  have  shot  him,  as  he  would  a  Bear,  and  as  careless  of 
the  consequences. 

The  grown  up  population  of  these  people  appear  to  be 
about  three  men  to  every  five  women,  and  yet  the  births 
appear  in  favour  of  the  boys.  The  few  that  are  killed  in 
battle  will  not  account  for  this,  and  the  deficiency  may  be 
reckoned  to  the  want  of  woollen  or  cotton  clothing.  Leather 
does  very  well  in  dry  weather,  but  in  wet  weather,  or  heavy 
rains  it  is  very  uncomfortable,  and  as  is  frequently  the  case 
on  a  march,  cannot  be  dried  for  a  few  days  ;  it  thus  injures 
the  constitution  and  brings  on  premature  decay.     Of  this  the 


PEEAGANS  353 

Natives  appear  sensible,  for  all  those  that  have  it  in  their 
power,  buy  woollen  clothing. 

The  Indians  of  the  Plains  all  punish  adultery  with  death 
to  both  parties.  This  law  does  not  appear  to  be  founded  on 
either  religious,  or  moral,  principles,  but  upon  a  high  right 
of  property  as  the  best  gift  that  Providence  has  given  to 
them  to  be  their  wives  and  the  mothers  of  their  famihes ; 
and  without  whom  they  cannot  live.  Every  year  there  [are] 
some  runaway  matches  between  the  young  men  and  women ; 
these  are  almost  wholly  from  the  hatred  of  the  young  women 
to  polygamy.  When  a  fine  young  woman,  proud  of  herself, 
finds  that  instead  of  being  given  to  her  lover,  she  is  to  be  the 
fourth,  or  fifth  wife  to  some  Man  advanced  in  years,  where 
she  is  to  be  the  slave  of  the  family,  and  bear  all  the  bondage 
of  a  wife,  without  any  of  it's  rights  and  priviledges,  she  readily 
consents  to  quit  the  camp  with  her  lover,  and  go  to  some 
other  camp  at  a  distance  where  they  have  friends.  In  this 
case  the  affair  is  often  made  up,  and  the  parents  of  the  young 
woman  are  more  pleased,  than  otherwise ;  yet  it  sometimes 
ends  fatally.  But  the  most  of  these  elopements  are  with  the 
young  women  given  to  be  the  third  or  fourth  or  fifth  wife ; 
in  this  case  the  affair  is  more  serious,  for  it  is  not  the  father, 
but  the  husband  that  is  wronged,  and  revenges  the  injury. 
If  the  young  couple  can  escape  a  few  months  the  affair  is 
sometimes  settled  by  a  present  of  one  or  two  horses  ;  but  if 
the  young  man  is  considered  a  worthless  character,  which  is 
often  the  case,  his  life  pays  the  forfeit  of  his  crime,  and  if  the 
woman  escapes  the  same  fate,  her  nose  is  cut  off  as  a  mark 
of  infamy,  and  some  of  these  unfortunate  women  have  been 
known  to  prefer  death  to  this  disgrace.  Yet  some  cases  are 
very  hard. 

Poonokow  (the  Stag)  was  a  son  of  the  War  Chief,  Kootanae 
Appee.  He  was  betrothed  to  a  young  woman,  and  only 
waited  until  the  leather  for  a  tent  could  be  dressed  to  be  a 
tent  for  them ;   during  which,  upon  an  insult  from  the  Snake 


354      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Indians,  his  father  collected  his  Warriors  to  revenge  it,  and 
some  of  his  sons  accompanied  him,  among  whom  was 
Poonokow ;  the  expedition  was  successful  and  he  proudly 
returned  with  two  fine  horses  one  of  which  he  intended  for 
his  father  in  law.  During  the  expedition,  by  present  and 
promises  the  father  of  another  young  man  obtained  her  for 
his  son.  A  friend  went  oif  [to]  his  fathers  camp  to  inform  him 
of  the  disposal  of  his  intended  bride,  and  [to  tell  him  to]  think 
no  more  of  her,  but  his  love  for  her  was  too  strong  to  follow 
this  advice.  With  his  two  horses  he  went  near  the  camp, 
but  did  not  enter  it ;  here  his  friend  parlied  with  him,  whom 
he  requested  to  send  one  of  his  aunts  to  him  ;  she  came,  and 
he  explained  to  her  how  he  was  dealt  with  and  that  he  was 
determined  to  have  his  bride,  tho'  he  should  kill  the  man  that 
had  her.  His  aunt  seeing  his  resolution,  promised  to  speak  to 
her  and  see  what  she  would  do,  the  young  woman,  as  soon  as 
she  was  informed  of  it,  went  to  him,  and  they  both  set  oif 
for  the  Trading  House  on  the  Saskatchewan  River,  a  journey 
of  six  days.  When  near  the  House,  he  saw  a  number  of 
horses  belonging  to  it,  and  not  wishing  to  make  his  appear- 
ance on  jaded  horses,  he  unsaddled  his  own,  and  was  putting 
the  saddles  on  other  two  horses,  when  an  Indian  who  was 
guarding  them  perceiving  him  and  thinking  he  was  steaHng 
them  shot  him  thro'  the  belly.  He  knew  the  wound  was 
mortal,  but  had  strength  to  reach  the  House,  where  he  lay 
down  and  related  what  had  passed ;  The  next  morning 
finding  himself  dying  he  took  his  sharp  dagger  in  his  hand, 
and  held  it  ready  to  plunge  into  the  heart  of  the  young 
woman  who  had  accompanied  him  and  who  was  sitting  beside 
him  ;  he  said  to  her,  "  Am  I  to  go  alone  ;  do  you  really  love 
me  ? "  She  burst  into  tears,  held  down  her  head,  but  said 
nothing.  "  I  see  you  do  not  love  me  and  I  must  go  alone, 
tell  my  brother  of  what  has  happened  and  that  I  die  by  my 
own  hand,"  then  with  his  dagger  [he]  cut  his  belly  from 
side  to  side,  and  with  a  hysteric  laugh  fell  dead.     The  Traders 


PEEAGANS  355 

buried  him.  Tlie  Peeagan  young  woman  remained  two  days 
and  as  her  fate  appeared  certain  she  was  advised  to  go  to 
some  camp  of  the  Blackfeet,  but  she  refused,  saying,  he  told 
me  to  go  to  his  brothers,  and  to  them  I  must  go.  And  re- 
questing a  horse,  which  was  given  to  her,  with  provisions, 
she  went  to  the  camp  of  the  brothers  of  her  deceased  lover, 
and  to  them  related  the  sad  story  ;  they  pitied  her,  as  they 
knew  the  Man  to  whom  she  was  given  would  kill  her,  and 
told  her  so,  and  enquired  what  she  intended  to  do.  She  said 
I  know  what  I  ought  to  have  done,  but  my  heart  was  weak, 
it  is  not  so  now ;  my  life  is  gone,  if  I  die  by  the  hand  of  the 
man  to  whom  I  was  given,  I  shall  die  a  bad  death,  and  in  the 
other  world  wander  friendless,  and  no  one  to  take  care  of 
me ;  your  brother  loved  me,  he  is  in  the  other  world,  and 
will  be  kind  to  me  and  love  me,  have  pity  on  me  and  send  me 
to  him  ;  an  arrow  thro'  her  heart  laid  her  dead,  for  her  soul 
to  rejoin  her  lover,  and  they  buried  her  as  the  widow  of  their 
brother.  Whatever  may  be  the  idea  of  some  civilized  atheists, 
the  immortaHty  of  the  soul  is  the  high  consolation  of  all  the 
rude  tribes  of  North  America. 

The  character  of  all  these  people  appear[s]  to  be  brave, 
steady  and  deliberate,  but  on  becoming  acquainted  with  them 
there  is  no  want  of  individual  character,  and  almost  every 
character  in  civilized  society  can  be  traced  among  them,  from 
the  gravity  of  a  judge  to  a  merry  jester,  and  from  open 
hearted  generosity  to  the  avaricious  miser.  This  last  char- 
acter is  more  detested  by  them,  than  by  us,  from  their  pre- 
carious manner  of  life,  requiring  assistance  from  each  other, 
and  their  general  character.  Especially  in  provisions  is  great 
attention  [paid]  to  those  that  are  unfortunate  in  the  chace, 
and  the  tent  of  a  sick  man  is  well  supplied.  (Note.  We  had 
been  hunting  the  Bison,  and  every  horse  was  loaded  with 
meat,  even  those  we  rode  on  ;  returning  we  came  to  a  few 
Aspins,  where  everyone  made  a  halt,  and  from  the  load  of 
every  horse  a  small  bit  was  cut  and  thrown  on  the  decayed 


356      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

root  of  a  tree,  to  appease  the  spirit  of  a  Man  who  had  died 
there  of  hunger  many  years  past,  and  all  the  conversation 
until  we  came  to  the  camp,  turned  upon  such  an  uncommon 
death).  They  have  a  haughtiness  of  character,  that  let  their 
wants  be  what  they  will  they  will  not  ask  assistance  from  each 
other,  it  must  be  given  voluntarily  and  disgrace  they  cannot 
bear,  especially  in  publick.  Upon  some  business  I  was  at  one 
of  their  camp[s];  with  five  men,  in  the  afternoon  as  we  were 
about  going  away,  and  talking  with  some  twenty  men,  sitting 
on  our  horses,  about  furrs  and  provisions  an  Indian  passed  us 
on  foot,  apparently  somewhat  irritated  at  something  that  had 
happened  in  hunting,  he  had  let  his  horse  loose,  and  his  little 
horse  whip  was  at  his  wrist ;  his  wife  was  outside  the  door  of 
her  tent  as  well  as  many  other  women  listening  to  us.  When 
he  came  to  her  he  said  something  to  her,  and  struck  her 
gently  with  his  whip  ;  she  entered  the  tent,  and  in  an  instant 
came  out,  and  passed  about  three  yards  from  him,  then  facing 
him,  she  said  to  him,  you  have  before  all  these  disgraced  me, 
you  shall  never  do  it  again  ;  and  drawing  a  sharp  pointed 
Knife  she  plunged  it  into  her  heart,  and  fell  dead.  The 
whole  camp  seemed  to  regret  her  death,  and  blamed  him  for 
it ;  but  not  a  word  [was  said]  against  her  suicide,  for  a  blow 
especially  in  public,  is  a  high  disgrace.  She  was  carefully 
buried,  and  what  belonged  to  her,  broken  or  killed.  Her 
husband  was  fond  of  her,  he  sat  quietly  in  his  tent  all  day, 
but  at  night  went  to  some  distance,  and  there  [would]  call 
upon  and  lament  her.  Before  her  death  he  was  an  active 
and  successful  hunter,  but  since  then  never  went  a  hunting 
and  Hved  upon  any  thing  that  was  given  him  :  After  he  had 
passed  more  than  two  months  this  way,  his  friends  became 
alarmed,  and  represented  to  him  that  he  was  acting  more 
like  a  woman  than  a  man,  and  that  he  must  become  again  the 
Warrior  and  the  Hunter ;  and  brought  to  him  two  young 
women,  the  cousins  of  his  former  wife,  to  be  his  wives ;  but 
he  never  regained  his  former  cheerfulness.     The  affections  of 


PEEAGANS  357 

an  Indian  are  deep,  for  he  has  nothing  to  turn  them  to  other 
things. 

The  Natives  of  all  these  countries  are  fond  of  their  chil- 
dren, they  have  faults  like  other  children  but  are  not  corrected 
by  being  beat.  Contempt  and  ridicule  are  the  correctives 
employed,  these  shame  them,  without  breaking  their  spirit. 
And  as  they  are  all  brought  up  in  the  open  camp,  the  other 
children  help  the  punishment.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
Husbands  and  Wives  separate,  if  they  have  children  the  boys 
are  taken  by  the  father,  and  the  Mother  brings  up  the  girls, 
but  even  in  this  case  the  father  always  retains  his  rights  to 
them  until  they  are  married. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

PEEAGANS   CONTINUED 

Soldiers — Gamblers — Games — Resemblance  of  Indian  language 
to  European — Religion — Belief  in  the  Immortality  of  animals 
— Passages  to  the  other  world — Morals — Medicine  Bags — • 
Red  Pipes — Influential  men — Dreamers — Treatment  of  the 
old — Numeration — Meals — Horse  stealing — Attack  on  the 
Spaniards. 

IN  every  large  camp  the  Chiefs  appoint  a  number  of  young 
men  to  keep  peace  and  order  in  the  camp  ;  in  pro- 
portion to  it's  size ;  these  are  called  Soldiers,  they  are 
all  young  men  lately  married,  or  are  soon  to  be  married,  they 
have  a  Chief,  and  are  armed  with  a  small  wooden  club. 
They  have  great  power  and  enforce  obedience  to  the  Chiefs. 
The  Hunters  having  informed  the  old  Men,  that  the 
Bisons  were  driven  to  too  great  a  distance  for  hunting,  they 
called  the  Soldiers  to  see  that  no  person  went  a  hunting  until 
the  herds  of  Bisons  came  near  of  which  they  would  inform 
them  ;  The  same  evening  a  Chief  walked  through  the  camp 
informing  them  that  as  the  Bisons  were  too  far  off  for  hunting 
they  had  given  orders  to  the  Soldiers  to  allow  no  person  to 
hunt  until  farther  notice.  Such  an  order  is  sure  to  find 
some  tents  ill  provided.  While  we  were  there,  hunting  was 
forbidden  on  this  account.  Two  tents  which  had  gambled 
away  their  things,  even  to  their  dried  provisions,  had  to  steal 
a  march  on  the  Soldiers  under  pretence  of  looking  after  their 
horses ;    but  finding  they  did  not  return  were  watched.      In 

the  evening  of    the  second  day,  they    approached  the  camp, 

358 


/23  /22  121  '■^°  "3 


7Jte  years  i7f!t>'. 


V'  ^s 


7yin^ Zetw-een 4S  and  eodeoTvea    .J^rlA  Xiatitvcle  and  a4  andrX4^  dearees 
TrtstZonyetude  co/njirisiTiy  tie Siiryfjs ana  Sifiscoreries  o/^M  pears  nameiu- 

O^e  SSiscxineryei/iftJiiryey  off/ie  (S'reaoTt  S^errilorff  2b  ike  <Mzei/ic  OceoTt 
tJiesurt^etf  o/'the  .3'tAaiezsca  Saie  .if^aire  ^ii^er  anttXaAe  J-rom  x^ich 

^ioic^s-  ^^ac^ei^ies  ^iwr  totAe  OrcZitxfea  iy^vr^tiiptXimertfie  Jiou/i:  e/  Jit 
^/excmder'Aiaf^en^ie  inJPas  dow7ipaT?-m^,!jfmsersJiiyer 


V 


■y^j. 


■4dr= 


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V^ 


l,?*?.' 


V. 


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(A  \ 


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107.  101 


TffTSXl 


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4- 


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i-^ 


>.// 


1] 


p  JE 


y^, 
^ 


^^c.t;. 


^ 


U- 


6. 


PEEAGANS   CONTINUED  359 

with  their  horses  loaded  with  meat  which  the  Soldiers  seized, 
and  the  owners  quickly  gave  up  ;  the  former  distributed  the 
Meat  to  the  tents  that  had  many  women  and  children,  and 
left  nothing  to  the  owners ;  but  those  that  had  received  the 
Meat,  in  the  night  sent  them  a  portion  of  it.  Not  a  murmer 
was  heard,  every  one  said  they  had  acted  right. 

But  the  great  business  of  the  Soldiers  is  with  the  Gamblers, 
for  like  all  people  who  have  too  much  time  on  their  hands, 
they  are  almost  to  a  man,  more,  or  less  given  to  gambling 
day  and  night.  All  these  the  Soldiers  watch  with  attention, 
and  as  soon  as  they  perceive  any  dispute  arise,  toss  the 
gambHng  materials  to  the  right  and  left,  and  kick  the  stakes 
in  the  same  manner ;  to  which  the  parties  say  nothing,  but 
collect  everything  and  begin  again ;  In  the  day  time  the 
game  generally  played  is  with  a  round  ring  of  about  three 
inches  diameter,  bound  round  with  cloth  or  leather,  and  the 
game  is  played  by  two  men,  each  having  an  arrow  in  his 
right  hand  :  one  of  them  rolls  the  ring  over  a  smooth  piece 
of  prepared  ground,  and  when  it  has  rolled  a  few  yards,  each 
following  it,  gently  throw  their  arrows  through  it  to  rest 
about  half  way  on  the  ring,  which  now  lies  on  the  ground 
and  according  to  the  position  of  the  arrows,  one  has  gained 
and  the  other  lost ;  each  of  these  acts  for  a  party  who  have 
an  interest  in  the  game ;  and  it  sometimes  requires  two  or 
three  hours  to  decide  the  game.  They  have  also  sometimes 
horse  racing,  but  not  in  a  regular  manner ;  but  bets  between 
individuals  upon  hunting  in  running  down  animal[s],  as  the  Red 
and  Jumping  Deer,  or  the  killing  of  so  many  Cow  Bisons  at 
a  single  race.  Another  game  is  small  pieces  of  wood  of  different 
shapes,  which  are  placed  in  a  bowl  and  then  [thrown]  up  a 
little  way  and  caught  in  the  bowl,  and  according  as  they 
lay  the  game  is  won  or  lost ;  if  the  holder  of  the  bowl  has 
gained,  he  continues  until  he  has  completed  twenty,  or  ten, 
as  the  number  may  be  agreed  on.  He  then  hands  the  Bowl 
to  his  opponent  to  try  his  luck,  or  if  during  any  part  he  has 


360      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

lost,  the  Bowl  is  handed  to  the  other,  until  the  first  has 
gained  the  number  agreed  on,  who  is  declared  the  final  winner. 
All  games  are  played  by  either  individuals  for  themselves  or 
as  acting  for  parties ;  and  I  do  not  know  any  game  where 
parties  act  against  parties,  it  would  prove  too  dangerous, 
altho'  this  is  the  case  with  the  Indians  of  the  low  coimtries. 

The  Game  to  which  all  the  Indians  of  the  Plains  are  most 
addicted,  and  which  they  most  enjoy  is  by  hiding  in  one  of 
the  hands,  some  small  flat  thing  generally  the  flat  tooth  of 
a  Red  Deer,  and  the  other  party  [has]  to  tell  in  which  hand  it 
is.  It  is  played  by  two  persons  but  generally  by  parties.  It 
takes  place  in  the  early  part  of  the  night  and  continues  a  few 
hours.  It  is  played  in  a  large  tent ;  the  opposite  parties 
sitting  on  different  sides  of  the  tent.  In  the  hind  part  of  the 
tent  the  Umpire  sits  with  the  stakes  on  each  side.  Both 
parties  throwing  their  robes  and  upper  dress  off,  and  sit  bare 
above  the  belt,  and  each  having  chosen  it's  lucky  man ;  the 
Umpire  shows  the  Red  Deers  tooth,  which  is  marked  to  pre- 
vent being  changed,  he  hides  it  in  one  of  his  hands,  and  the 
party  that  guesses  the  hand  in  which  it  is  begins  the  game  ; 
it's  lucky  man  showing  he  has  the  tooth,  begins  a  song  in 
which  his  companions  join  him,  he  in  the  mean  time  throw- 
ing his  arms  and  hands  into  every  position  ;  the  other  party 
are  all  quietly  watching  all  his  motions.  In  a  few  minutes 
he  extends  his  arms  straight  forward  with  both  hands  closed, 
and  about  six  inches  apart,  and  thus  hold  them  until  the 
opposite  party  guess  in  which  hand  the  tooth  is  ;  this  is  not 
always  immediately  done,  but  frequently  after  a  short  con- 
sultation ;  if  they  guess  wrong,  the  other  winning  party 
continue  with  the  same  gesticulation  and  song  as  before ; 
until  a  good  guess  is  made  and  the  tooth  handed  to  the  lucky 
man  of  the  other  party,  and  thus  the  game  is  continued  until 
one  of  them  counts  ten,  which  is  game.  When  the  guess  is 
made  in  which  hand  is  the  tooth,  both  hands  are  thrown 
open.      The  Umpire  now  takes  the  stakes  of  the  losing  party 


PEEAGANS   CONTINUED  361 

and  places  them  on  the  side  of  the  winning  party,  but  keeps 
them  separate.  The  losing  party  now  hand  to  the  Umpire 
another  stake  to  regain  the  one  they  have  lost.  Thus  the 
game  continues  with  varied  success  until  they  are  tired,  or 
one  party  cannot  produce  another  stake ;  in  this  case  the 
losing  party  either  give  up  the  stakes  they  have  lost  to  the 
winners,  or  direct  the  Umpire  to  keep  [them]  for  the  re- 
newal of  the  game  the  next  night.  However  simple  this 
game  appears,  it  causes  much  excitement  and  deep  attention 
in  the  players.  The  singing,  the  gesticulation,  and  the  dark 
flashing  eyes  as  if  they  would  pierce  through  the  body  of  him 
that  has  the  tooth,  their  long  hair,  and  muscular  naked  bodies, 
their  excited,  yet  controlled  countenances,  seen  by  no  other 
light  than  a  small  fire,  would  form  a  fine  scene  for  an  Artist. 

The  stakes  are  Bison  Robes,  clothing,  their  tents,  horses, 
and  Arms,  until  they  have  nothing  to  cover  them  but  some 
old  robe  fit  for  saddle  cloths.  Yet  they  have  some  things 
which  are  never  gambled,  as  all  that  belongs  to  their  wives 
and  children,  and  in  this  the  tent  is  frequently  included ; 
and  always  the  Kettle,  as  it  cooks  the  meat  of  the  children, 
and  the  Axe  as  it  cuts  wood  to  warm  them.  The  Dogs  and 
horses  of  the  women  are  also  exempt. 

The  Languages  of  this  continent  on  the  east  and  north 
sides  of  the  Mountains  as  compared  with  those  of  Europe 
may  be  classed  as  resembling  in  utterance.  The  Sieux  and 
Stone  Indian  to  the  Italian.  The  Nahathaway  and  Chipaway 
with  their  dialects  to  the  French.  The  Peeagan  with  their 
allies,  the  Blood  and  Black  feet  Indians  to  the  EngHsh,  and 
the  northern  people,  the  Dinnae,  or  Chepawyans  to  the 
German. 

Of  the  several  Tribes  that  hunt  on  the  great  Plains  none 
of  them  have  what  we  call  a  creed.  Yet  there  is  a  general 
belief  in  some  things,  and  to  directly  question  them  on  their 
religion  is  of  no  use,  as  those  that  have  lived  long  with  them, 
know  very  well.      Persons  who  pass  through  the  country  often 


362      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

think  the  answers  the  Indians  give  is  their  real  sentiments. 
The  answers  are  given  to  please  the  querist. 

The  sacred  Scriptures  to  the  Christian  ;  the  Koran  to  the 
Mahometan  give  a  steady  belief  to  the  mind,  which  is  not 
the  case  with  the  Indian,  his  ideas  on  what  passes  in  this 
world  is  tolerably  correct  so  far  as  his  senses  and  reason  can 
inform  him ;  but  after  death  all  is  wandering  conjecture 
taken  up  on  tradition,  dreams  and  hopes.  The  young  people 
seldom  trouble  themselves  beyond  the  present  time,  but 
after  thirty,  their  precarious  life  of  hunting  and  war,  the  loss 
of  parents,  relations  and  friends  with  much  spare  time  brings 
on  reflection,  and  turns  their  thoughts  to  futurity.  They  all 
appear  to  acknowledge  that  there  is  one  great  power,  always 
invisible,  that  is  the  master  of  life  and  to  whom  every  thing 
belongs,  that  he  is  kind  and  beneficent ;  and  pleased  to  see 
mankind  happy,  but  how  far  he  is  pleased  to  interfere  with 
the  concerns  of  Mankind,  they  are  not  agreed ;  some  think 
that  his  providence  is  continually  exerted,  that  they  can 
have  nothing  but  what  he  allows  to  them,  founding  their 
arguments  on  his  power  and  being  the  master  of  everything  ; 
but  the  greater  part  believe  every  man  to  be  the  master  of 
his  own  fortune,  and  that  this  depends  on  his  own  conduct, 
yet  they  all  allow  the  Great  Spirit  to  be  the  master  of  the 
seasons,  and  of  the  animals  with  every  thing  else,  that  is  not 
under  their  control,  but  on  all  these  things  their  ideas  are 
very  vague,  and  sometimes  from  their  conversation  they 
believe  in  fatality,  which  is  no  part  of  their  belief  as  grounded 
on  the  ever  varying  visissitude  of  their  lives.  Living  in  the 
open  wide  plains,  where  everything  is  visible  and  can  be 
brought  within  the  range  of  their  reason,  they  are  free  from 
the  superstitions  of  the  natives  of  the  forests,  and  seldom 
address  the  Great  Spirit  but  on  public  occasions  as  on  going 
to  War  ;  and  for  the  herds  of  Bisons  to  continue  to  feed  in 
their  country  or  any  epidemic  sickness. 

They  believe  there  are  inferior  Beings  to  the  Great  Spirit, 


PEEAGANS    CONTINUED  363 

under  whose  orders  they  act,  that  have  the  care  of  the  animals 
of  the  Plains  and  the  Forests ;  but  do  not  allow  them  the 
power,  or  reverence,  which  the  Natives  of  the  Forests  bestow 
on  their  Manitoes.  All  the  Natives  of  north  America,  from 
Ocean  to  Ocean,  however  unknown  to  each  other,  and  dis- 
similar in  language,  all  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  and  act  on  this  belief.  Although  this  heavenly  belief 
has  not  the  high  sanction  of  the  holy  Redeemer  of  mankind 
who  alone  has  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light,  yet 
vague  and  obscure  as  it  is,  it  is  the  mercy  of  the  Almighty  to 
them.  They  have  no  ideas  of  a  judgement  in  the  other  world, 
with  rewards  and  punishments,  but  think  the  other  world  is 
like  this  we  inhabit  only  far  superior  to  it  in  the  fineness  of 
the  seasons,  and  the  plenty  of  all  kinds  of  Provisions,  which 
are  readily  got,  by  hunting  on  fleet  horses  to  catch  the  Bisons 
and  Deer,  which  are  always  fat.  The  state  of  society  there 
is  vague  yet  somehow  the  good  will  be  separated  from  the 
bad  and  be  no  more  troubled  by  them,  that  the  good  will 
arrive  at  a  happy  country  of  constantly  seeing  the  Sun,  and 
the  bad  wander  into  darkness  from  whence  they  cannot 
return.  And  the  darkness  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  crimes 
they  have  committed. 

Their  morals  appears  to  proceed  from  an  inherent  sense 
of  the  rights  of  individuals  to  their  rights  of  property,  whether 
given  to  them,  or  acquired  by  industry,  or  in  hunting.  All 
these  belong  to  the  person  who  is  in  possession  of  them ; 
and  which  give  him  a  right  to  defend  any  attempt  to  take 
them  from  him.  No  man  is  allowed  connexion  with  his 
female  relations  nearer  to  him  than  his  second  cousins,  and 
by  many  these  are  held  too  near.  Two  sisters  frequently 
become  the  wives  of  the  same  husband,  and  [this]  is  supposed 
to  give  harmony  to  their  families.  Among  people  who  have 
no  laws,  injuries  will  arise,  without  any  authority  to  redress 
them  ;  this  is  felt  and  acknowledged,  and  most  would  will- 
ingly see  a  power  that  could  proportion  the  punishment  to 


364      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  offence,  but  to  whom  shall  the  power  be  given,  and  who 
would  dare  to  take  it,  even  when  offered  to  him ;  not  One. 
The  Chiefs  that  are  acknowledged  as  such,  have  no  power 
beyond  their  influence,  which  would  immediately  cease  by 
any  act  of  authority  and  they  are  all  careful  not  to  arrogate 
any  superiority  over  others. 

When  out  on  the  Plains  one  of  these  Chiefs  had  rendered 
me  several  services,  for  which  I  had  then  nothing  to  pay 
him.  On  my  return  to  the  house,  by  the  interpreter,  I  sent 
him  a  fine  scarlet  coat  trimmed  with  orris  lace,  and  a  message 
that  as  I  understood  he  was  going  to  war,  I  had  sent  him  this 
coat  as  a  recompense  for  his  services  with  some  tobacco.  But 
the  interpreter,  not  thinking  this  homely  message  sufficiently 
pompous,  on  the  dehvery  of  the  coat,  told  him  I  had  sent 
it  to  him  as  being  a  great  Chief  and  to  be  his  dress  on  going 
to  War  as  a  Chief.  He  was  surprised  at  such  a  message  ;  and 
the  next  day,  by  a  young  man,  sent  it  with  the  message  to 
the  Chief  at  the  next  camp,  who  not  liking  the  tenor  of  the 
message,  sent  both  to  another  camp,  and  thus  it  passed  to 
the  sixth  hand,  who  being  something  of  a  humourist,  sent  it 
to  a  very  old  chief,  who  was  not  expected  to  live.  He  kept  it, 
telling  the  messenger  to  thank  the  Trader  for  sending  him 
such  a  fine  coat  to  be  buried  in.  Some  time  after,  the  Chief 
to  whom  I  had  sent  the  coat  came  in  to  trade  and  enquired 
if  the  message  sent  with  the  coat  came  from  me  ;  I  told  him 
the  message  I  had  sent,  and  that  the  coat  was  a  recompense 
for  his  services.  He  was  very  angry  with  the  interpreter,  and 
told  me  not  to  employ  him  among  his  people  as  he  was  looked 
on  as  a  pompous  fool,  and  that  his  lies  would  cause  his  death, 
(which  happened  two  years  after  ;)  he  then  related  how  the 
coat  and  message  had  been  sent  forward  till  it  came  to  the 
old  dying  chief  ;  and  that  the  message  as  delivered  by  the 
interpreter  had  caused  much  conversation,  as  I  am,  as  yet, 
but  a  young  chief.  Had  the  coat  with  such  a  message  have 
been  sent  to  the  War  or  civil  chief,  they  would  have  taken  the 


PEEAGANS   CONTINUED  365 

Coat,  and  laughed  at  the  message,  but  for  this  I  am  not  old 
enough.  The  consequence  was,  that  I  had  to  pay  him  the 
value  of  the  coat  in  other  goods.  Even  the  War  and  Civil 
Chiefs  have  no  authority  beyond  the  influence  of  what  their 
good  conduct  gives  to  them. 

The  natives  of  the  forest  pride  themselves  on  their  Medi- 
cine bags,  which  are  generally  well  stocked  with  a  variety  of 
simples  which  they  gather  from  the  woods  and  banks  of  the 
Lakes  and  Rivers,  and  with  the  virtues  of  which  they  are 
somewhat  acquainted.  The  Indians  of  the  Plains,  have  none 
of  these,  and  collect  only  sweet  scented  grasses,  and  the  gums 
that  exude  from  the  shrubs  that  bear  berries  and  a  part  of 
these  is  for  giving  to  their  horses  to  make  them  long  winded 
in  the  chase.  But  these  people  must  also  have  something 
to  which  they  can  attach  somewhat  of  a  supernatural  char- 
acter for  religious  purposes ;  and  for  this  purpose  they  have 
adopted  the  Red  Pipe,  and  Pipe  Stem,  and  which  seems  to 
have  been  such  from  old  times ;  for  until  the  year  1 800  they 
had  always  raised  tobacco  in  proportion  to  their  wants. 
When  they  became  acquainted  with  the  tobacco  of  the 
U  States  brought  by  the  traders,  which  they  found  to  be  so 
superior  to  their  own,  that  they  gradually  left  off  cultivating 
it  and  after  the  above  year  raised  no  more.  The  tobacco 
they  raised  had  a  very  hot  taste  in  smoking,  and  required  a 
great  proportion  of  bears  berry  weed  to  be  mixed  with  it. 
The  white  people  gave  it  the  name  of  the  devil's  tobacco. 
As  very  few  of  them  can  find  furrs  to  trade  the  quantity  of 
tobacco  they  require,  I  enquired  of  them,  why  they  did 
not  .  .  .1 

also  for  a  medicine  pipe  there  are  certain  ceremonies  to  be 
gone  through,  and  a  woman  is  not  allowed  to  touch  a  medi- 
cine pipe ;  and  their  long  pipe  stems  are  equally  sacred 
These  are  of  three  to  more  than  four  feet  in  length,  and  about 
three  to  five  inches  in  girth,  and  well  polished.     Each  re- 

^  A  page  of  manuscript  is  here  missing. 


366      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

spectable  man  has  from  three  to  four  of  these  pipes  stems, 
which  are  tied  together  when  not  in  use  and  hung  on  a 
tree ;  on  removing  from  place  to  place  the  owner  slings 
them  over  his  back  and  at  the  campment  again  hangs  them  up. 

That  equality  among  the  Natives  however  strictly  held, 
does  not  prevent  a  great  part  from  wishing  to  distinguish 
themselves,  in  some  manner  and  as  there  cannot  be  many 
remarkable  Warriors  and  Hunters,  a  few  mix  with  other 
tribes  and  learn  their  languages,  and  become  acquainted  with 
their  countries  and  mode  of  hunting.  Others  turn  Dreamers, 
and  tell  what  other  tribes  are  doing  and  intend  to  do  ;  where 
the  Bisons  and  Deer  are  most  plenty ;  and  how  the  weather 
will  be ;  and  the  boldest  Dreamers  point  out  the  place  of  the 
camp  of  their  enemies,  and  what  they  intend  to  do  Some 
shrewd  men,  by  their  dreams  procure  influence,  and  become 
Chiefs.  And  in  general  dreams  are  very  useful  for  making 
bargains,  exchanging  and  buying  horses,  making  marriages, 
and  giving  advice,  which  in  any  other  manner  would  not  be 
taken, — and  dreams  also  indulges  that  innate  love  of  mankind 
for  prying  into,  and  predicting  futurity.  If  which  they  have 
foretold  come  to  pass  they  are  accounted  wise  men,  and  if 
it  fails,  it  was  only  a  dream.  Time  often  hangs  heavy  on 
them,  and  for  this  gambling  is  their  greatest  reHef. 

The  civilized  man  from  very  early  youth  is  accustomed 
to  hear  numbers  spoken  of  from  one  to  one  Million  ;  thus 
fifty,  five  hundred,  or  five  thousand,  &c.  are  to  him  as  units, 
his  mind  gives  no  individuaHty  to  each  unit  that  compose 
the  number  be  it  of  what  it  will.  But  the  Indian  forms  his 
numbers  of  individuals,  and  appears  to  have  no  idea  of  numbers 
independent  of  them.  Perhaps  formerly  the  uneducated 
Shepherds,  and  Herdsmen  obtained  their  ideas  of  numbers 
in  the  same  manner,  and  [I]  have  frequently  been  told  of 
Shepherds  who  could  not  by  numbers  count  their  Sheep  in 
his  flock,  but  by  his  own  way  could  quickly  tell  if  there  was 
one  missing. 


PEEAGANS   CONTINUED  367 

The  Nahathaway  Indians  count  numbers  the  same  manner 
as  we  do  to  the  numbers  of  lOO  which  they  call  the  great 
ten  ;  and  a  thousand,  the  great,  great  ten  ;  beyond  which 
they  do  not  pretend  to  number  ;  and  even  of  this  they  make 
no  use,  and  any  things,  as  of  birds  and  animals  that  would 
amount  to  this  number,  they  would  express  it  by  a  great 
many.  But  the  Indians  of  the  plains  count  only  by  tens, 
and  what  is  above  two  tens,  they  lay  small  sticks  on  the 
ground  to  show  the  number  of  tens  they  have  to  count  and 
in  describing  the  herds  of  Bisons  or  Deer,  they  express  them 
by  a  great,  great  many,  and  the  space  they  stand  on  ;  for 
numbers  is  to  them  an  abstract  idea,  but  space  of  ground  to 
a  certain  extent  they  readily  comprehend  and  the  animals  it 
may  contain  ;  for  they  do  not  appear  to  extend  their  faculties 
beyond  what  is  visible  and  tangible. 

The  Peeagan  Indians,  and  their  tribes  of  Blood  and  Black- 
feet,  being  next  to  the  Mountains  often  send  out  parties 
under  a  young  Chief  to  steal  Horses  from  their  enemies  to 
the  south  and  west  side  of  the  Mountains,  known  as  the 
Snake,  the  Saleesh  and  the  Kootanae  Indians.  This  is  allowed 
to  be  honourable,  especially  as  it  is  attended  with  danger  and 
requires  great  caution  and  activity.  But  the  country  of  the 
Stone  Indians  and  Sussees  are  full  from  four  to  six  hundred 
miles  in  the  plains,  eastward  of  the  Mountans,  and  too  far 
to  look  for  horses ;  the  Sussees  content  themselves  with  rear- 
ing horses,  but  the  Stone  Indians  are  always  in  want  of 
horses  which  appears  to  be  occasioned  by  hard  usage.  They 
are  most  noted  horse  stealers  and  where  ever  they  appear  in 
small  parties,  the  horses  are  immediately  guarded.  They 
steal  horses  from  other  tribes,  but  frequently  at  great  risque. 
Those  who  are  near  the  trading  settlements  too  often  steal 
the  horses  of  other  tribes  when  they  come  to  trade  ;  and  also 
those  of  the  Traders,  in  doing  of  which  they  are  very  expert. 
When  the  Traders  leave  their  stations  to  proceed  with  their 
furrs  to  the  different  depots  to  exchange  for  goods  :  the  horses 


368      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of  the  trading  House  are  sent  some  few  miles  under  the 
care  of  two  or  three  Men  well  armed,  to  where  there  are 
plenty  of  good  grass,  water,  and  a  wood  of  Poplar  and  Aspin, 
the  latter  to  make  a  smoky  fire  to  relieve  the  horses  from  the 
torment  of  the  Musketoes  and  horse  flies.  One  summer  (I 
think  1802)  a  large  camp  of  Stone  Indians,  had  sent  some 
young  men  to  a  Blackfoot  Camp,  who  brought  away  about 
thirty  horses,  they  were  quickly  followed  to  the  Stone  Indian 
camp,  and  about  three  nights  afterwards,  the  Blackfeet  young 
men  took  not  only  the  greater  part  of  the  horses  stolen  from 
them,  but  collected  as  many  more  and  drove  them  all  off  to 
their  own  camp. 

This  distressed  the  Stone  Indian  camp  and  as  they  knew 
the  other  camps  were  guarding  their  horses,  they  determined 
to  steal  horses  from  the  trading  Houses.  Accordingly  six 
smart  young  men  were  selected  and  sent  to  the  Upper  House 
on  the  Saskatchewan  River,^  a  distance  of  five  or  six  days 
journey.  When  within  a  few  miles  of  the  house  they  came 
to  about  fifty  horses  guarded  by  three  men  whose  station 
was  on  a  low  bank  that  overlooked  the  place  where  the  horses 
were  feeding,  all  the  mares  had,  as  usual,  the  fore  [feet]  tied 
together  with  a  leather  thong  to  prevent  them  strolling 
about  and  more  readily  kept  together.  The  Men  kept  strict 
watch,  only  one  man  slept  at  a  time  and  in  the  night  two  of 
them  walked  among  the  horses  well  armed.  Thus  for  six 
days  they  watched  for  an  opportunity ;  during  which  time, 
with  their  Arrows  they  had  kiUed  three  buck  Antelopes ."  They 
were  now  tired  of  waiting  and  were  determined  to  try  their 

^  Rocky  Mountain  House. 

*  Although  it  is  probable  that  in  one  or  two  previous  instances  Thomp- 
son refers  to  the  Prong-horned  Antelope,  Aniilocapra  americana  (Ord.), 
it  is  certain  that  in  this  and  in  several  succeeding  instances,  he  actually 
refers  to  deer,  usually  Odocoileus  hemionus  (Rafinesque),  under  the  name 
"  antelope."  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Tyrrell  that  Thompson's  loose  use 
of  the  word  antelope  is  probably  due  to  a  lapse  of  memory,  since  in  his 
original  notes  he  used  the  word  chevreuil,  the  name  then  in  common  use 
among  the  voyageurs  for  the  Mule  Deer.     [E.  A.  P.] 


PEEAGANS    CONTINUED  369 

fortune  ;  In  the  afternoon  when  they  perceived  the  Men 
had  dined  three  of  them  with  the  skins  of  the  Antelopes  and 
their  horns,  disguised  themselves  to  appear  like  deer,  the 
other  three  also,  put  horns  on  their  heads  of  which  there 
were  very'  plenty  on  the  plains ;  the  latter  went  behind  the 
horses  and  there  entered  among  them  and  untied  the  feet  of 
the  horses ;  those  with  the  Antelope  skins  pretended  to  feed 
as  deer,  and  got  among  the  horses  for  the  same  purpose,  the 
Men  were  deceived,  but  remarked  it  was  the  first  time  they 
had  seen  the  Antelopes  feeding  among  horses.  As  soon  as 
the  horses  were  all  untied,  the  Indians  gave  a  signal  to  each 
other,  with  the  Hues  bridled  the  best  horses  and  jumping  on 
them  as  they  were,  horns  and  all,  gave  the  hunting  halloa, 
and  drove  the  whole  of  the  horses  off  at  a  round  gallop.  The 
men  were  so  surprised  that  they  could  scarcely  believe  what 
they  saw,  and  before  they  could  recover  themselves  to  use 
their  guns,  the  whole  of  the  horses  were  far  out  of  shot. 

The  Stone  Indians  brought  them  all  to  the  camp,  and 
were  received  with  the  praises  of  the  men,  and  the  dances  of 
the  women.  Some  time  after  at  another  trading  House,  in 
the  month  of  July,  two  of  [us]  went  off  to  hunt  and  early 
walked  off  to  the  Horse  tent,  on  account  of  the  flies,  all  the 
horses  were  crowded  round  the  smoke  of  the  fires ;  we 
saddled  two  of  the  best  and  rode  off  a  few  miles  but  the  flies 
were  so  numerous  the  horses  were  frequently  for  throwing 
themselves  on  the  ground  to  get  rid  of  them,  and  seeing 
nothing,  we  returned  to  the  Horse  tent,  where  we  found  the 
three  men  in  a  violent  passion  and  swearing  with  all  their 
might.  On  looking  at  them,  one  of  them  .  .  .^ 
pass  part  of  the  summer  at  one  of  the  trading  houses. 

In  the  latter  end  of  August,  he  took  his  outfit  for  the 
winter's  hunt,  and  with  his  two  horses  carrying  his  traps  and 
baggage  set  off  for  his  winter  quarters.  A  few  days  after  we 
were  surprised  to  see  him  return  :   he  informed  us  that  as  he 

'■  A  page  of  manuscript  is  here  missing. 

2   A 


370      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

proceeded  on  his  journey  the  Horses  with  their  load  struck 
a  wasp's  nest  and  were  severely  stung  by  the  wasps,  that  in 
running  away  and  rolling  themselves  on  the  ground  they  had 
lost  one  of  his  steel  traps  and  broke  another,  and  spoilt  some 
of  his  gunpowder,  which  he  wanted  to  replace,  and  informed 
us  this  was  not  the  first  time  he  had  suffered  from  them. 
The  old  man  sat  very  serious  smoking  his  pipe,  and  shaking 
his  head,  said  "  I  can  never  get  my  Horses  accustomed  to 
the  Wasps."  When  removing  their  Tents,  the  Men  going 
before  destroy  the  wasps  and  nest  before  the  Women  and 
Children  come  on. 

I  have  already  remarked  the  tribe  of  the  Peeagans  have 
their  country  along  the  east  foot  of  the  Mountains  from  the 
Saskatchewan  southward  to  the  Missisourie,  and  are  the 
frontier  people  and  their  enemies  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mountains  must  break  through  them  to  make  war  on  their 
alHes,  who  thus  live  in  security  in  their  rear.  This  station 
has  given  to  this  Tribe  something  of  a  chivalrous  character 
and  their  war  parties  carry  on  their  predatory  excursions  to 
a  distance  scarcely  credible  in  search  of  their  enemies,  the 
Snake  Indians.  In  the  year  1807,^  in  the  early  part  of 
September  a  party  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  Warriors 
under  the  command  of  Kootana  Appe  went  off  to  w^ar  on 
the  Snake  Indians  ;  they  proceeded  southward  near  the  east 
foot  of  the  Mountains  and  found  no  natives,  they  continued 
further  than  usual,  very  unwiUing  to  return  without  having 
done  something,  at  length  the  scouts  came  in  with  word  that 
they  had  seen  a  long  file  of  Horses  and  Mules  led  by  Black 
Men  (Spaniards)  and  not  far  off.  They  were  soon  ready  and 
formed  into  one  line  about  three  feet  from  each  other,  for 
room  to  handle  their  Bows  and  Shiels,  having  but  a  few 
guns ;  the  ground  was  a  rough  undulating  plain,  and  by 
favor  of  the  ground  approached   to  near  the  front  of  the 

*  It  is  apparent  from  another  account  by  Thompson  of  this  raid  that 
this  date  should  be  1 787. 


PEEAGANS   CONTINUED  371 

file  before  they  were  discovered,  when  giving  the  war  whoop, 
and  making  a  rush  on  the  front  of  the  file,  the  Spaniards  all 
rode  off  leaving  the  loaded  Horses  and  Mules  to  the  war 
party,  each  of  whom  endeavoured  to  make  prize  of  a  Horse 
or  Mules.  They  were  loaded  with  bags  containing  a  great 
weight  of  white  stone  (Silver)  which  they  quickly  threw  off 
the  animals  on  the  ground ;  in  doing  which  the  saddle 
girths  were  cut,  except  a  few,  and  then  [they]  rode  off.  I 
never  could  learn  the  number  of  the  animals,  those  that  came 
to  the  camp  at  which  I  resided  were  about  thirty  horses  and 
a  dozen  mules,  with  a  few  saddles  and  bridles.  The  Horses 
were  about  fourteen  hands  high  finely  shaped,  and  though 
very  tired  yet  lively,  mostly  of  a  dark  brown  color,  head 
neat  and  small,  ears  short  and  erect,  eyes  fine  and  clear,  fine 
manes  and  tails  with  black  hoofs.  The  saddles  were  larger 
than  our  english  saddles,  the  side  leather  twice  as  large  of 
thick  well  tanned  leather  of  a  chocolate  color  with  the  figures 
of  flowers  as  if  done  by  a  hot  iron,  the  bridles  had  snaffle 
bits,  heavy  and  coarse  as  if  made  by  a  blacksmith  with  only 
his  hammer.  The  weight  and  coarseness  of  these  bits  had 
made  the  Indians  throw  most  of  them  away. 

The  place  this  war  party  started  from  is  in  about  53°  20'  N, 
and  the  place  where  they  met  the  Spaniards  conveying  the 
silver  from  the  mines  is  about  the  latitude  of  32  degrees 
north  a  distance  of  1500  miles  in  a  direct  line. 


PART  II 


CHAPTER    I 

CROSS   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS 

Cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  the  defiles  of  the  Saskatchewan — 
Build  new  Fort  on  the  Columbia  River — Animals — Salmon 
— Drying  of  Salmon  by  the  Indians — New  Trading  Post 
established  on  M'^Gillivray^s  River — Raid  of  the  Peeagans 
on  the  Trading  Post — Winter  in  the  Mountains — Leave 
Trading  Post. 

1  BELIEVE  that  I  have  said  enough  [about  the  country] 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains ;  I  shall  therefore  turn 
to  the  west  side ;  I  have  already  related  how  the  Peeagans 
watched  us  to  prevent  our  crossing  the  Mountains  and  arming 
the  Natives  on  that  side ;  in  which  for  a  time  they  succeeded, 
and  we  abandoned  the  trading  Post  near  the  Mountains  ^  in 
the  spring  of  1807  ;  the  murder  of  two  Peagan  Indians  by 
Captain  Lewis  of  the  United  States,^  drew  the  Peagans  to 
the  Mississouri  to  revenge  their  deaths ;  and  thus  gave  me 
an  opportunity  to  cross  the  Mountains  by  the  defiles  of  the 
Saskatchewan  River,  which  led  to  the  head  waters  of  the 
Columbia    River,   and   we   there   builded  Log  Houses,^  and 

^  This  was  an  outpost  from  Rocky  Mountain  House,  which  appears  to 
have  been  kept  by  Jaco  Finlay  on  the  Kootenay  Plain,  near  the  head- 
waters of  the  Saskatchewan  river,  in  the  winter  of  1806—07,  ^^d  perhaps 
also  at  an  earlier  date. 

*  This  refers  to  an  attack  upon  Capt,  Meriwether  Lewis  of  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  by  the  Blackfeet  at  Marias  river,  Montana, 
on  July  27,  1806,  when  Lewis  killed  a  couple  of  Indians.  See  Thwaites 
(ed.),  Original  Journals  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  New  York, 
1904,  vol.  v.,  pp.  223-7.     [T.  C.  E.] 

^  These  log  houses  were  "  Kootanae  House,"  the  first  trading  post  erected 
by  white  men,  as  far  as  is  now  known,  upon  the  waters  of  the  Columbia 

375 


376      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

strongly  stockaded  it  on  three  sides,  the  other  side  resting  on 
the  steep  bank  of  the  River  :  the  Logs  of  the  House,  and  the 
Stockades,  Bastions  &c  were  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  a  heavy 
resinous  Fir,  of  a  rough  black  bark.  It  was  clean  grown  to 
about  twenty  feet,  when  it  threw  off  a  head  of  long  rude 
branches,  with  a  long  narrow  leaf  for  a  Fir,  which  was  annually 
shed,  and  became  from  green  to  a  red  color.  The  Stockades 
were  aU  ball  proof,  as  well  as  the  Logs  of  the  Houses. 

At  the  latter  end  of  Autumn,  and  through  the  winter 
there  are  plenty  of  Red  Deer,^  and  the  Antelope,^  with  a  few 
Mountain  Sheep  :  ^  the  Goats  *  with  their  long  silky  hair  were 
difficult  to  hunt  from  their  feeding  on  the  highest  parts  of 
the  Hills,  and  the  Natives  relate  that  they  are  wicked,  kicking 
down  Stones  on  them  ;  but  during  the  Summer  and  early 
part  of  Autumn  very  few  Deer  ^  were  killed,  we  had  very  hard 
times  and  were  obliged  to  eat  several  Horses,  we  found  the 

river,  ante-dating  the  first  erected  by  an  American  trader,  that  of  Andrew 
Henry  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Snake  river,  by  more  than  three  years. 
Simon  Fraser  had  established  trading  posts  on  the  Fraser  river  only 
the  year  before.  Kootanae  House  was  known  to  the  North- West  Com- 
pany oflELcers  east  of  the  mountains  as  "  Old  Fort  Kootanae,"  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  other  posts  established  on  the  Kootenay  river,  south  of 
the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  one  near  Bonner's  Ferry,  Idaho,  which  is 
hoted  on  Thompson's  map,  and  a  later  one  opposite  Jennings,  Montana. 
The  chimney  bottoms  of  the  post  are  still  to  be  seen  upon  Lot  7,  Division 
B  of  Wilmer  District  of  the  Columbia  Valley  Irrigated  Fruit  Lands  (as 
platted),  about  one  mile  north-west  of  the  town  of  Athalmer,  where  the 
Columbia  river  leaves  Lake  Windermere  flowing  north,  and  just  north 
of  Toby  Creek,  but  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  the  mouth  of  the 
creek.  Thompson,  in  his  survey  notes  of  the  Columbia  river,  says  that 
the  "  due  course  "  from  the  post  to  the  junction  of  Nelson's  Rivulet 
(Toby  Creek)  and  Kootenay  Rivulet  is  "  N.  40°  E.  J  m.  or  a  little  better." 
According  to  these  survey  notes,  Thompson  first  selected  a  site  on  what 
is  now  Canterbury  Point  at  the  north-west  comer  of  Lake  Windermere, 
and  completed  a  warehouse  there,  but  afterwards  removed  to  the  site 
farther  north  because  of  lack  of  easy  access  to  water.  [T.  C.  E.] 
'  Cervus  canadensis  Erxleben.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Not  Antilocapra  ;  see  note  on  page  368.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Ovis  canadetisis  Shaw.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Oreatnnos  montanus  (Ord).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Mainly  Odocoileus  hemionus  (Rafinesque).     [E.  A.  P.] 


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CROSS   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS       377 

meat  of  the  tame  Horse,  better  than  that  of  the  wild  Horse, 
the  fat  was  not  so  oily  :  At  length  the  Salmon  ^  made  their 
appearance,  and  for  about  three  weeks  we  lived  on  them.  At 
first  they  were  in  tolerable  condition,  although  they  had 
come  upwards  of  twelve  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  and 
several  weighed  twenty  five  pounds.  But  as  the  spawning 
went  on  upon  a  gravel  bank  a  short  distance  above  us,  they 
became  poor  and  not  eatable.  We  preferred  Horse  meat.  As 
the  place  where  they  spawned  had  shoal  swift  clear  water  on 
it,  we  often  looked  at  them,  the  female  with  her  head  cleared 
away  the  gravel,  and  made  a  hole  to  deposite  her  spawn  in, 
of  perhaps  an  inch  or  more  in  depth,  by  a  foot  in  length, 
which  done,  the  male  then  passed  over  it  several  times, 
when  both  covered  the  hole  well  up  with  gravel.  The 
Indians  affirm,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  beHeve  them, 
that  not  a  single  Salmon,  of  the  myriads  that  come  up  the 
River,  ever  returns  to  the  sea  :  the  shores  of  the  River,  after 
the  spawning  season,  were  covered  with  them,  in  a  lean  dying 
state,  yet  even  in  this  state,  many  of  the  Indians  eat  them. 
At  some  of  the  Falls  of  the  Columbia,  as  the  Salmon  go  up, 
they  are  speared,  and  all  beyond  the  wants  of  the  day,  are 
split,  and  dried  in  the  smoke,  for  which  they  have  rude 
sheds,  and  in  their  Houses,  and  often  [they]  dry  enough  to 
trade  with  other  Tribes.  When  dried  by  the  smoke  of  Aspin, 
or  other  woods  of  a  summer  leaf,  I  have  found  them  good ; 
but  dried  by  the  resinous  Wood  of  the  Pine  genus,  the 
taste  was  harsh  and  unwholesome. 

In  my  new  dwelling  I  remained  quiet  hunting  the  wild 
Horses,"  fishing,   and    examining    the  country ;    two   Canoes 

^  Probably  Oncorhynchus  nerka  (Walbaum).  [E.  A.  P.] 
*  Thompson,  in  an  unpublished  manuscript,  gives  the  following 
account  of  these  horses  :  "  The  horses  all  come  from  Spanish  horses, 
which  have  very  much  multiplied,  as  every  year  the  mares  have  a  foal. 
There  are  several  herds  of  wild  horses  in  places  along  the  mountains, 
especially  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountains  ;  on  the  pine  hills  of  Mount 
Nelson,  these  have  all  come  from  tame  horses  that  have  been  lost,  or  wan- 


378      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

of   goods    arrived   for   trade,   on    Horses,   by  the   defiles    of 

the    Saskatchewan    River ;    half    of    these    goods    under   the 

charge   of   M"  Finan   M'^Donald^  I  sent  to  make  a  trading 

dered  away  from  tents  where  sickness  prevailed  ;  they  are  always  fat, 
with  fine  coats  of  hair.  For  the  greatest  part  of  two  summers  I  hunted 
them,  took  several  of  them,  and  tamed  them.  Their  feeding  places  were 
only  about  two  miles  from  my  residence.  When  I  first  made  my  appear- 
ance among  them,  they  were  in  small  herds  of  five  to  seven,  sometimes 
of  mares  with  a  stallion,  others  were  wholly  of  mares.  Upon  my  ap- 
proaching them,  they  appeared  at  a  loss  what  to  do ;  they  seemed  incUned 
to  run  away,  yet  remained.  Their  nostrils  distended,  mane  erect,  and 
tail  straight  out,  snorting  and  prancing  about  in  a  wild  manner.  I  shot 
one  of  them,  and  they  ran  ofE.  I  went  to  the  horse  I  had  shot  and  passed 
my  hand  over  the  body  to  feel  its  body  and  condition ;  by  doing  so  my 
hand  had  a  disagreeable  smell,  which  washing  my  hand  for  two  days 
with  soap  barely  took  away,  yet  when  tamed  this  did  not  occur.  We 
now  agreed  to  try  and  run  them  down.  For  this  purpose  we  took  two 
long-winded  horses  and  started  a  herd  of  five.  They  soon  left  us,  but  as 
these  hills  are  covered  with  short  grass,  with  very  little  wood,  we  easily 
kept  them  in  sight.  It  was  a  wild  steeple-chase,  down  hills  and  up  others. 
After  a  chase  of  about  four  hours  they  brought  us  to  near  the  place  we 
started  them.  Here  we  left  them  frightened,  tired,  and  looking  wildly 
about  them.  The  next  day  we  took  swift  horses,  and  instead  of  following 
them  quietly,  we  dashed  at  them  full  speed  with  a  hunting  holloa,  forcing 
them  to  their  utmost  speed  ;  the  consequence  was,  two  of  them  fell  dead, 
a  fine  iron  grey  stood  still ;  we  alighted  and  tied  his  fore  feet  together 
and  there  left  him.  Following,  we  came  to  another  horse,  tied  his  feet 
and  left  him,  we  returned  to  the  first  horse.  I  passed  my  hand  over  his 
nostrils,  the  smell  of  which  was  so  disagreeable  that  his  nostrils  and  the 
skin  of  his  head  became  contorted,  yet  when  tame,  the  doing  of  this 
appeared  agreeable.  The  next  day  we  went  for  them  on  two  steady 
horses,  with  strong  lines,  which  we  tied  round  his  neck,  put  a  bit  in  his 
mouth  with  a  short  bridle  through  which  the  lines  passed,  untied  his 
feet,  brought  him  to  the  house,  where  he  was  broken  to  the  bit  and  to 
the  saddle.  They  lose  all  their  fat  and  become  lean,  and  it  takes  about 
full  two  months  to  recover  them  to  a  good  condition.  When  in  this  last 
state  they  are  made  use  of  to  hunt  and  ride  down  wild  horses,  for  strange 
to  say,  a  horse  with  a  good  rider  will  always  overtake  a  horse  without  a 
rider,  wild  or  tame." 

^  This  is  the  first  mention  in  the  text  of  this  clerk  of  the  North-West 
Company  who  accompanied  Thompson  on  his  first  trip  across  the  moun- 
tains, and  whose  name  appears  often  in  the  rare  and  hidden  annals  of 
the  Columbia  river  basin  during  the  next  nineteen  years.  He  never 
advanced  beyond  the  grade  of  clerk,  but  as  such  he  was  the  first  white 
man  to  visit  many  tribes  west  of  the  Rockies.  He  had  been  at  Rocky 
Mountain  House  before  Thompson's  arrival  there  on  November  29,  1806, 


CROSS   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS      379 

Post  ^  at  a  considerable  Lake  in  M*^Gillivray's  River  ;  the  season 
was  late,  and  no  more  could  be  done  ;  about  the  middle  of 
November  ^  two  Peeagans  crossed  the  Mountains  on  foot  and 

and  remained  with  him  there  during  the  winter.  In  the  spring  of  1807, 
he  accompanied  Thompson  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  was  with 
him  while  he  was  building  Kootanae  House  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Columbia  river.  On  September  23,  he  went  northward  for  another  load 
of  supplies,  but  returned  with  loaded  horses  on  November  7,  From  that 
date  he  remained  at  or  near  the  fort  until  June  9,  1808,  when  Thompson 
returned  from  his  adventurous  trip  to  Lake  Kootenay.  That  summer  he 
accompanied  his  chief  eastward  across  the  mountains ;  and  on  his  return 
westward  he  was  given  a  portion  of  the  trading  goods,  and  sent  southward 
down  the  Kootenay  river.  He  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  down  the 
river  when  his  canoe  was  frozen  in  the  ice,  and  he  was  obliged  to  return 
to  Kootanae  House  for  horses.  With  them  he  continued  down  to  the  falls, 
where  he  built  a  warehouse  for  the  goods,  and  where  he  and  his  men  spent 
the  winter  in  two  leather  tents.  During  the  winter  he  appears  to  have 
sent  Boisvert  and  Boulard  on  a  trip  to  Pend  d'Oreille  lake.  In  the  spring 
of  1809,  he  crossed  the  mountains  as  usual  with  Thompson,  and  descended 
to  Fort  Augustus,  On  July  14,  he  began  his  return  journey,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 8  he  arrived  at  Pend  d'Oreille  lake.  Here  he  spent  the  winter  of 
1809-10.  When  Thompson  left  that  post  in  the  spring,  he  sent  McDonald 
up  to  Saleesh  House  on  Clark's  Fork  ;  and  here  he  spent  the  summer, 
and  probably  also  part  at  least  of  the  following  winter,  varying  the  mono- 
tony of  the  fur-trader's  life  by  joining  the  Salish  Indians  in  a  battle, 
fought  some  time  in  July,  with  the  Piegan.  Early  in  the  j^ear  1811,  he 
appears  to  have  gone  with  Jaco  Finlay  to  Spokane  House,  where  he  was 
found  by  Thompson.  After  the  union  of  the  North- West  and  Hudson's 
Bay  Companies  in  1821,  McDonald  succeeded  Donald  McKenzie  in  charge 
of  the  Snake  country  trappers,  and  had  evidently  visited  that  district 
before.  With  Peter  Skene  Ogden  in  1825  his  name  again  appears  as 
"  avant  courier  "  to  the  Klamath  tribe  of  southern  Oregon  near  Mount 
Shasta.  Our  last  record  of  him  is  his  written  request  to  Dr.  McLoughlin 
at  Vancouver,  in  July,  1826,  to  be  allowed  to  return  across  the  Rockies, 
and  his  departure  in  September  of  that  year  with  his  family  up  the  river 
from  Kettle  Falls.  He  intermarried  with  the  Kutenai  or  Spokanes,  and 
tradition  connects  his  blood  with  some  prominent  families  of  Montana 
to-day.  According  to  Ross  Cox,  who  is  our  authority  as  to  his  personal 
appearance  and  characteristics,  he  was  bom  at  Inverness,  Scotland.  See 
Ross  Cox,  The  Columbia  River,  London,  1832,  vol.  i.  pp.  164—5.  [J.  B.  T. 
and  T.  C.  E.] 

^  Thompson's  note-books  show  that  McDonald's  first  trading  station 
among  the  Kutenai  was  established  in  the  autumn  of  1808  (not  1807), 
when  he  built  a  small  log  warehouse  just  above  Kootenay  Falls. 

*  Thompson's  memory  of  the  exact  order  of  occurrences  has  here 
failed  him  somewhat.     His  note-books  show  that  on  August  26,   1807, 


380      DAVID   THOMPSON'S  NARRATIVE 

came  to  the  House,  to  see  how  I  was  situated ;  I  showed 
the  strength  of  the  Stockades,  and  Bastions,  and  told  them 
I  know  you  are  come  as  Spies,  and  intend  to  destroy  us, 
but  many  of  you  will  die  before  you  do  so  ;  go  back  to 
your  countrymen  and  tell  them  so ;  which  they  did,  and  we 
remained  quiet  for  the  winter ;  I  knew  the  danger  of  the 
place  we  were  in,  but  could  not  help  it  :  As  soon  as  the 
Mountains  were  passable  I  sent  off  the  Clerk  and  Men  with 
the  Furrs  collected,  among  which  were  one  hundred  of  the 
Mountain  Goat  Skins  with  their  long  silky  hair,  of  a  foot 
in  length  of  a  white  color,  tinged  at  the  lower  end  with  a 
very  Hght  shade  of  yellow.  Some  of  the  ignorant  self 
sufficient  partners  of  the  Company  ridiculed  such  an  article 
for  the  London  Market ;  there  they  went  and  sold  at  first 
sight  for  a  guinea  a  skin,  and  half  as  much  more  for  another 
Lot,  but  there  were  no  more.  These  same  partners  then 
wrote  to  me  to  procure  as  many  as  possible,  I  returned  for 
answer,  the  hunting  of  the  goat  was  both  dangerous  and 
laborious,  and  for  their  ignorant  ridicule  I  would  send  no 
more,  and  I  kept  my  word. 

I  had  now  to  prepare  for  a  more  serious  visit  from  the 
Peagans  who  had  met  in  council,  and  it  was  determined  to 
send  forty  men,  under  a  secondary  Chief  to  destroy  the 
trading  Post,  and  us  with  it,  they  came  and  pitched  their 
Tents  close  before  the  Gate,  which  was  well  barred.  I  had 
six  men  with  me,  and  ten  guns,  well  loaded,  the  House  was 
perforated  with  large  augur  holes,   as  well  as   the  Bastions, 

while  he  was  building  Fort  Kootanae,  twelve  Piegan  men  and  two  women 
arrived  at  the  fort,  having  been  sent  by  Kootanae  Appee  to  see  what  he  was 
doing.  On  September  26,  twenty-three  more  Piegan  arrived  ;  and  these 
stayed  for  a  week  at  the  post,  making  themselves  somewhat  troublesome, 
but  there  is  no  mention  of  a  state  of  siege.  On  October  30,  Thompson 
says  that  two  Piegan  had  left  the  fort,  and  that  he  believed  a  general 
attack  on  the  fort  was  contemplated  ;  but  no  such  attack  was  made. 
The  information  received  about  this  time  of  the  destruction  of  Fort 
Augustus  on  the  Saskatchewan  river  by  the  Blackfeet  would  lend  strength 
to  any  report  of  the  contemplated  hostility  of  the  Piegan. 


CROSS   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS      381 

thus  they  remained  for  three  weeks  without  daring  to  attack 
us.  We  had  a  small  stock  of  dried  provisions  which  we  made 
go  as  far  as  possible  ;  they  thought  to  make  us  suffer  for 
want  of  water  as  the  bank  we  were  on  was  about  20  feet  high 
and  very  steep,  but  at  night,  by  a  strong  cord  we  quietly  and 
gently  let  down  two  brass  Kettles  each  holding  four  Gallons, 
and  drew  them  up  full ;  which  was  enough  for  us  :  They 
were  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  for  Kootanae  Appee  the  War 
Chief,  had  pubHckly  told  the  Chief  of  this  party,  (which  was 
formed  against  his  advice)  to  remember  he  had  Men  con- 
fided to  his  care,  whom  he  must  bring  back,  that  he  was  sent 
to  destroy  the  Enemies  not  to  lose  his  Men  :  Finding  us 
always  on  the  watch,  they  did  not  think  proper  to  risque 
their  lives,  when  at  the  end  of  three  weeks  they  suddenly 
decamped  ;  I  thought  it  a  ruse  de  guerre,  I  afterwards  learned 
that  some  of  them  hunting  saw  some  Kootanaes  who  were 
also  hunting,  and  as  what  was  done  was  an  act  of  aggression, 
something  like  an  act  of  War  ;  they  decamped  to  cross  the 
mountains  to  join  their  own  Tribe  while  all  was  well  with 
them  :  the  return  of  this  party  without  success  occasioned  a 
strong  sensation  among  the  Peeagans.  The  Civil  Chief 
harangued  them,  and  gave  his  advice  to  form  a  strong  war 
party  under  Kootanae  Appee  the  War  Chief  and  directly  to 
crush  the  white  Men  and  the  Natives  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mountains,  before  they  became  well  armed.  They  have 
always  been  our  slaves  (Prisoners)  and  now  they  will  pretend 
to  equal  us  ;  no,  we  must  not  suffer  this,  we  must  at  once 
crush  them.  We  know  them  to  be  desperate  Men,  and  we 
must  destroy  them,  before  they  become  too  powerful  for 
us ;  the  War  Chief  coolly  observed  I  shall  lead  the  battle 
according  to  the  will  of  the  Tribe,  but  we  cannot  smoke 
to  the  Great  Spirit  for  success,  as  we  usually  do,  it  is  now 
about  ten  winters  since  we  made  peace  with  them,  they  have 
tented  and  hunted  with  us,  and  because  they  have  guns  and 
iron  headed  Arrows,  we  must   break  our  word  of  peace  with 


382      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

them  :  We  are  now  called  upon  to  go  to  war  with  a  people 
better  armed  than  ourselves  ;  be  it  so,  let  the  Warriors  get 
ready ;  in  ten  nights  I  will  call  on  them.  The  old,  and  the 
inteUigent  Men,  severely  blamed  the  speech  of  the  Civil 
Chief,  they  remarked,  "  the  older  he  gets,  the  less  sense  [he 
possesses]."  On  the  ninth  night  the  War  Chief  made  a  short 
speech,  to  have  each  man  to  take  full  ten  days  of  dried  pro- 
visions, for  we  shall  soon  leave  the  country  of  the  Bison, 
after  which  we  must  not  fire  a  shot,  or  we  shall  be  discovered  : 
On  the  tenth  night  he  made  his  final  speech,  and  exhorting 
the  Warriors  and  their  Chiefs  to  have  their  Arms  in  good 
order,  and  not  forget  dried  provisions,  he  named  a  place ; 
there  I  shall  be  the  morrow  evening,  and  those  who  now 
march  with  me,  there  I  shall  wait  for  you  five  nights,  and 
then  march  to  cross  the  Mountains  ;  at  the  end  of  this  time 
about  three  hundred  Warriors  under  three  Chiefs  assembled ; 
and  took  their  route  across  the  Mountains  by  the  Stag 
River,  and  by  the  defiles  of  another  River  of  the  same  name, 
came  on  the  Columbia,  about  full  twenty  miles  from  me ; 
as  usual,  by  another  pass  of  the  Mountains,  they  sent  two 
Men  to  see  the  strength  of  the  House  ;  I  showed  them  all 
round  the  place,  and  they  staid  that  night.  I  plainly  saw 
that  a  War  Party  was  again  formed,  to  be  better  conducted 
than  the  last ;  and  I  prepared  Presents  to  avert  it  :  the  next 
morning  two  Kootanae  Men  arrived,  their  eyes  glared  on  the 
Peagans  Uke  Tigers,  this  was  most  fortunate  ;  I  told  them  to 
sit  down  and  smoke  which  they  did  ;  I  then  called  the  two 
Peagans  out,  and  enquired  of  them  which  way  they  intended 
to  return.  They  pointed  to  the  northward.  I  told  them  to 
go  to  Kootanae  Appee  and  his  War  Party,  who  were  only  a 
days  journey  from  us,  and  delivering  to  them  the  Presents  I 
had  made  up,  to  be  off  directly,  as  I  could  net  protect  them, 
for  you  know  you  are  on  these  lands  as  Enemies  ;  the 
Presents  were  six  feet  of  Tobacco  to  the  Chief,  to  be  smoked 
among  them,  three  feet  with  a  fine  pipe  of  red  porphyry 


CROSS   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS       383 

and  an  ornamented  Pipe  Stem  ;  eighteen  inches  to  each  of 
the  three  Chiefs,  and  a  small  piece  to  each  of  themselves, 
and  telling  them  they  had  no  right  to  be  in  the  Kootanae 
Country  :  to  haste  away  ;  for  the  Kootanaes  would  soon  be 
here,  and  they  will  fight  for  their  trading  Post  :  In  all  that 
regarded  the  Peeagans  I  chanced  to  be  right,  it  was  all 
guess  work.  Intimately  acquainted  with  the  Indians,  the 
Country  and  the  Seasons,  I  argued  and  acted  on  probabilities ; 
I  was  afterwards  infornied  that  the  two  Peeagans  went  direct 
to  the  camp  of  the  War  Party,  delivered  the  Presents  and  the 
Message  and  sat  down,  upon  which  the  War  Chief  exclaimed, 
what  can  we  do  with  this  man,  our  women  cannot  mend  a 
pair  of  shoes,  but  he  sees  them,  alluding  to  my  Astronomical 
Observations  ;  then  in  a  thoughful  mood  he  laid  the  pipe 
and  stem,  with  the  several  pieces  of  Tobacco  on  the  ground, 
and  said,  what  is  to  be  done  with  these,  if  we  proceed, 
nothing  of  what  is  before  us  can  be  accepted  ;  the  eldest  of 
[the]  three  Chiefs,  wistfully  eyeing  the  Tobacco,  of  which 
they  had  none  ;  at  length  he  said,  You  all  know  me,  who  I 
am,  and  what  I  am  ;  I  have  attacked  Tents,  my  knife  could 
cut  through  them,  and  our  enemies  had  no  defence  against 
us,  and  I  am  ready  to  do  so  again,  but  to  go  and  fight  against 
Logs  of  Wood,  that  a  Ball  cannot  go  through,  and  with  people 
we  cannot  see  and  with  whom  we  are  at  peace,  is  what  I 
am  averse  to,  I  go  no  further.  He  then  cut  the  end  of  the 
Tobacco,  filled  the  red  pipe,  fitted  the  stem,  and  handed  it 
to  Kootanae  Appee,  saying  it  was  not  you  that  brought  us 
here,  but  the  foolish  Sakatow  (Civil  Chief)  who,  himself 
never  goes  to  War ;  they  all  smoked,  took  the  Tobacco,  and 
returned,  very  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  Kootanae  Appe 
my  steady  friend  ;  thus  by  the  mercy  of  good  Providence  I 
averted  this  danger  ;  Winter  came  on,  the  Snow  covered  the 
Mountains,  and  placed  us  in  safety  :  The  speeches  of  the 
Indians  on  both  sides  of  the  Mountains  are  in  plain  language, 
sensible  and  to  the  purpose ;    they  sometimes  repeat  a  few 


384     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

sentences  two  or  three  times,  this  is  to  impress  on  the  hearers 
the  object  of  the  speech ;  but  I  never  heard  a  speech  in  the 
florid,  bombastic  style,  I  have  often  seen  pubHshed  as  spoken 
to  white  men,  and  upon  whom  it  was  intended  to  have  an 
effect.  Although  through  the  mercy  of  Providence  we  had 
hitherto  escaped,  yet  I  saw  the  danger  of  my  situation.  I 
therefore  in  the  early  part  of  the  next  spring  took  pre- 
cautions to  quit  the  place. 


CHAPTER    II 

JOURNEY   FROM   KOOTANAE   HOUSE  TO 
RAINY  LAKE   HOUSE   AND   RETURN 

'Journey  from  Kootanae  House — Arrive  at  the  scource  of  the 
Columbia  River — Animal  of  the  tiger  species — Woods — 
Carrying  place  at  the  lower  Dalles  River — Moss  bread — 
Return  journey — Lay  up  the  canoe  and  proceed  on  horseback 
— Deserted  by  the  guide — New  guide,  the  Chief  Ugly 
Head — Hardships  of  the  journey — Bridging  a  river — Loss 
of  sixty  pounds  of  Beaver  furr — Camp  at  M^Gillivray^s 
River — Arrive  at  the  scource  of  the  Columbia — Descend 
the  Saskatchewan — Reach  Rainy  Lake  House — Destruction 
of  kegs  of  Alcohol — Kill  two  Bison  cows — Seepanee — Arrive 
at  the  Columbia  River — Arrive  back  at  Kootanae  House. 

BY  my  journal  of  1 808  I  left  the  Kootanae  House  on 
the  20""  of  April,^  proceeded  to  the  Lakes,  the 
scources  of  the  Columbia  River,  carried  everything 
about  two  miles  across  a  fine  plain  to  M'^GilHvray's  River,^ 
on  which  we  embarked,  and  proceeded  down  to  look  for 
Indians  ;  where  the  rocky  banks  somewhat  contracted  the 
Stream,  the  Water  made  a  hissing  noise  as  if  full  of  small 
icicles ;    on  examining  the  surface,  I  found  it  full  of  small 

^  The  men  who  accompanied  Thompson  on  this  expedition  were 
Mousseau,  Lussier,  BeauUeu,  and  La  Gamble.  Finan  McDonald  remained 
at  the  post. 

^  This  is  the  Kootenay  river  of  to-day.  It  was  named  by  Thompson 
"  McGillivray's  in  honour  of  the  family  to  whom  may  justly  be  attributed 
the  knowledge  and  commerce  of  the  Columbia  River."  The  "  Kootanae 
River "  of  Thompson's  note-books  is  the  Columbia  river  of  to-day. 
[T.  C.  E.] 

385  2  B 


386      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

whirlpools  of  about  two  inches  diameter,  all  in  motion, 
drifting  with  the  current,  and  striking  against  each  other, 
which  occasioned  the  hissing  sound.  On  proceeding  to  the 
Lake,i  where  we  arrived  on  the  14"*  of  May  ;  after  much 
loitering  along  the  River  looking  for  Indians,  whom  at  length 
we  found  near,  and  at  the  Lake ;  the  navigation  of  the 
River  was  very  dangerous  from  violent  eddies  and  whirl- 
pools, which  threatened  us  with  sure  destruction,  and  which 
we  escaped  by  hard  paddling,  keeping  the  middle  of  the 
River.  (Note.  M'  D"^  Ogden  ^  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
relates  a  most  sad  instance  of  the  effects  of  these  whirlpools. 
He  was  proceeding  down  the  Columbia  River  to  Point  Van- 
couver with  eleven  men  in  his  Canoe,  at  the  upper  Dalles, 
a  name  given  to  where  the  River  is  contracted  by  high  steep 
rocks,  he  ordered  the  Canoe  ashore,  he  landed  and  advised 
them  to  carry,  they  preferred  running  the  Dalles,  the  path 
is  close  along  the  River  without  wood,  the  Canoe  entered 
the  Dalles,  was  caught  by  a  whirlpool,  whirled  round  a  few 
times  beyond  the  power  of  the  Men  to  extricate  it,  it 
approached  the  centre  of  the  whirlpool,  the  end  of  the  canoe 
entered  it,  and  the  canoe  in  a  manner  became  upright,  the 
men  clinging  to  the  Bars  of  the  Canoe,  and  in  this  manner 
was  drawn  into  the  vortex  of  the  whirlpool  and  went  end 
foremost  down  into  it ;  at  the  foot  of  this  Dalle,  not  a 
vestige  was  seen,  but  the  body  of  one  man  much  mangled 
by  sharp  rocks.  The  rocks  of  these  Dalles  and  of  many 
parts  of  the  River  are  of  Basalt  Rock,  steep  sided,  of  an 
irregular  form,  having  many  sharp  Points  and  small  Bays, 
under  the  former  are  strong  eddies,  and  the  latter  too 
often  [have]  whirlpools  ;  which  the  Canoe  must  cautiously 
avoid.) 

On  the  22"^^  April  altho'  in  Latitude  50°  10'  N,  the 
Willows  and  Gooseberry  bushes  had  fine  leaves  ;  in  hunting 
we  were  not  successful,  but  killed  an    Animal  of  the  Tiger 

^  Lake  Kootenay.  *  See  note  on  p.  496. 


JOURNEY    FROM   KOOTANAE   HOUSE     887 

species.^  He  was  three  feet  in  height  on  the  fore  leg,  from 
the  nose  to  the  insertion  of  the  tail  seven  feet  and  a  half, 
the  Tail  two  feet  ten  inches ;  very  strongly  legged  with 
sharp  claws,  the  Back  and  upper  part  of  the  Tail  of  a  Fawn 
color,  the  Belly  and  under  part  of  the  Tail  and  it's  tip  white, 
the  flesh  was  white  and  good,  in  quantity  equal  to  the 
Antelope,  the  Liver  was  rich,  and  the  two  men  that  eat  it, 
for  several  hours  had  a  violent  head  ache,  which  passed  away  : 
The  Indians  say  the  habits  of  this  Animal  is  to  lie  in  covert, 
and  spring  upon  the  back  of  the  Deer,  to  which  he  fastens 
himself  by  his  claws,  and  directly  cuts  the  back  sinew  of  the 
neck,  the  Deer  then  becomes  an  easy  prey  :  The  Lake  I  have 
spoken  of,  is  about  three  to  four  miles  in  width  enclosed  by 
ridges  of  high  Mountains,  upon  which  there  was  much 
snow.  Along  the  River,  in  places  are  very  fine  woods  of 
Larch,^  Red  Fir,^  Alder,*  Plane  ^  and  other  woods  :  of  the 
Larch,  at  five  and  a  half  feet  above  the  ground  I  measured 
one  thirteen  feet  girth  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  clean 
growth,  and  then  a  fine  head.  This  is  one  of  many  hundreds. 
I  could  not  help  thinking  what  fine  Timber  for  the  Navy 
[exists]  in  these  forests,  without  a  possibility  of  being  brought 
to  market.  The  other  Woods,  fine  Red  Fir,  Pine,  Cypress, 
white  Cedar,*  Poplars,  Aspins,  Alders,  Plane  and  Willows. 

At  the  lower  Dalles '  we  had  to  carry  everything  on  the 
right  side,  up  a  steep  bank  of  Rock,  and  among  the  debris 
of  high  Rocks,  apparently  rude  basalt,  the  slope  to  the  River 

*  Mountain  Lion  or  Puma,  Felis  oregonensis  hippolestes  Merriam. 
[E.  A.  P.] 

*  Larix  occidentalis  Nuttall.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Probably  Abies  grandis  Lindley.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Alnus.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Probablj'  Dwarf  Maple,  Acer  glabrum  Torrey.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Thuja  plicata.     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  Kootenay  Falls,  Lincoln  county,  Montana,  between  Libby  and  Troy 
on  the  Great  Northern  Railway.  The  "  brook  "  is  Falls  Creek,  just  below 
the  falls.  Thompson's  description  is  corroborated  to  the  letter  by  later 
travellers  on  this  part  of  the  regular  Indian  trail  between  Jennings,  Mon- 


388     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Bank  was  at  a  high  angle,  and  our  rude  path  among  loose 
fragments  of  rock  was  about  three  hundred  feet  above  the 
River,  the  least  slip  would  have  been  sure  destruction,  having 
carried  about  one  mile,  we  came  to  a  Brook  where  we  put 
up  for  the  night.  Each  trip  over  this  one  mile  of  debris 
took  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  and  cut  our  shoes  to  pieces. 
The  banks  of  the  brook  were  about  two  hundred  feet  in 
height,  with  a  steep  slope  of  debris  to  descend,  with  not  a 
grain  of  sand,  or  earth,  on  them,  to  relieve  our  crippled 
feet.  From  the  brook  we  had  one  mile  to  carry  to  the  River, 
to  which  we  descended  by  a  gap  in  the  Rocks  ;  the  River 
had  steep  banks  of  Rocks,  and  [was]  only  thirty  yards  in 
width  ;  this  space  was  full  of  violent  eddies,  which  threatened 
us  with  destruction  and  wherever  the  river  contracted  the 
case  was  always  the  same,  the  current  was  swift,  yet  to 
look  at  the  surface  the  eddies  make  it  appear  to  move  as 
much  backward  as  forward  ;  where  the  river  is  one  hundred 
yards  wide  and  upwards  the  current  is  smooth  and  safe. 

In  the  evening  we  came  upon  the  remains  of  an  Antelope, 
on  which  an  Eagle  was  feeding.  We  took  the  remainder,  it 
was  much  tainted,  but  as  we  were  hungry,  we  boiled  and 
eat  of  it ;  which  made  us  all  sick ;  had  we  had  time  to 
make  charcoal,  and  boil  this  with  the  meat,  the  taint  would 
have  been  taken  from  the  meat.  The  next  day  we  came  to 
ten  Lodges  of  Kootanae  and  Lake  Indians.  They  had  nothing 
to  give  us  but  a  few  dried  Carp  and  some  Moss  bread,  this 
is  made  of  a  fine  black  moss,  found  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mountains  attached  to  the  bark  of  a  resinous  rough  barked 
Fir  and  also  to  the  larch.  It  is  about  six  inches  in  length, 
nearly  as  fine  as  the  hair  of  the  head  ;  it  is  washed,  beaten, 
and  then  baked,  when  it  becomes  a  cake  of  black  bread,  of  a 

tana,  and  Bonner's  Ferry,  Idaho.  The  canon  at  the  falls  is  about  one 
mile  long,  and  terminates  at  a  gorge  where  the  trail  is  compelled  to  leave 
the  river  and  picks  its  way  along  a  dizzy  slope  of  steep  bed-rock. 
[T.  C.  E.] 


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JOURNEY  FROM  KOOTANAE  HOUSE  389 

slightly  bitter  taste,  but  acceptable  to  the  hungry,  and  in 
hard  times,  of  great  service  to  the  Indians.  I  never  could 
relish  it,  it  has  just  nourishment  enough  to  keep  a  person 
alive.  They  informed  us  that  a  few  days  ago,  forty  seven 
Peeagans  crossed  the  Mountains  and  stole  thirty  five  of  their 
Horses,  in  doing  of  which,  the  old  Kootanae  Chief  killed  one 
of  them  ;  thus  is  war  continued,  for  want  of  the  old  Men 
being  able  to  govern  the  young  men. 

May  14**'.  To  this  date  we  had  the  meat  of  a  few  small 
Antelopes,  by  no  means  enough  to  prevent  us  eating  Moss 
Bread  and  dried  carp,  both  poor  harsh  food  ;  for  the  Carp' 
were  of  last  year's  catch  and  old  tasted  ;  the  water,  from  the 
melting  of  the  snow  in  the  Mountains,  had  risen  upwards  of 
six  feet ;  and  overflowed  all  the  extensive  fine  meadows  ^  of 
this  country :  We  now  began  our  return.^  The  several 
small  camps  we  came  to  of  Lake  Indians  aU  make  use  of 
canoes  in  the  open  season,  made  of  the  bark  of  the  White 
Pine,  or  of  the  Larch,  they  serve  for  two  seasons  but  are 
heavy  to  carry.  The  inner  side  of  the  bark  (that  next  to  the 
Tree),  is  the  outside  of  the  Canoe,  they  are  all  made  of 
one  piece,  are  generally  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in  length 
by  twenty  four  to  thirty  inches  on   the  middle    bar,  sharp 

1  Known  in  later  years  as  the  Kootenay  Bottoms.  The  Great  Nor- 
thern Railway  from  Bonner's  Ferry,  Idaho,  north  to  Lake  Kootenay  in 
British  Columbia,  runs  along  and  through  this  extensive  flat,  which  is 
subject  to  overflow.     [T.  C.  E.] 

^  Thompson  now  returns  upstream  to  lay  up  his  canoe  somewhere 
near  Bonner's  Ferry,  and  to  buy  horses  and  proceed  overland  across  this 
southern  loop  of  the  Kootenay  river  by  the  same  trail  as  was  used  by 
Governor  Simpson  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1841.  This  later 
became  the  much  used  line  of  travel  by  miners  and  pack  trains  when  gold 
was  discovered  in  the  Kootenay  district  in  1863-64.  It  followed  the  bench 
lands  north  from  Bonner's  Ferry,  and  then  turned  north-east  across 
"  Sarvice  Berry  Hill  "  (Thompson's  "  very  hilly  country  ")  to  the  valley 
of  the  Moyie  river,  close  to  Curzon  Junction  on  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  ;  from  there  it  ran  along  the  Moyie  river  and  lakes,  across 
Joseph's  Prairie  (Cranbrook)  to  the  Kootenay  river  below  Fort  Steele. 
[T.  C.  E.] 


390     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

at  both  ends.  We  engaged  two  men  with  one  of  these 
Canoes  to  guide  us  over  the  overflowed  meadows,  and  avoid 
the  current  of  the  River  which  we  knew  to  be  unnavigable ; 
to  effect  which  we  made  several  short  carrying  places  over 
strips  of  land  yet  dry ;  On  the  sixteenth  we  met  two 
Canoes  from  whom  we  traded  twelve  singed  Musk  Rats/  and 
two  shoulders  of  an  Antelope  :  thankful  for  a  change  from 
Moss  Bread  which  gave  us  all  the  belly  ache. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  May,  learning  the  country  was  too 
much  flooded  for  any  of  the  several  tribes  of  Indians  around 
us,  to  come  to  us,  I  bought  Horses,  laid  up  my  Canoe  as  the 
River  was  unnavigable  to  proceed  against  the  current,  and 
proceeded  by  land  over  very  hilly  country  ;  I  engaged  a 
Kootanae  Indian  to  guide  us,  and  he,  as  well  as  myself 
endeavoured  to  procure  another  man,  but  none  would  under- 
take the  journey. 

On  the  twentieth  we  came  to  a  large  Brook,  so  deep  and 
rapid,  the  light  Horses  could  not  cross  it,  we  had  to  cut 
down  a  large  Cedar  Tree  on  it's  banks,  which  fell  across  it  ; 
and  became  a  bridge  over  which  we  carried  everything ;  we 
had  to  take  each  Horse  separate,  and  with  a  strong  cord  of 
hide,  haul  him  across,  we  went  up  the  bank  and  camped  j 
our  Guide  went  a  hunting  ;  in  the  evening  he  came  to  us 
without  success,  and  we  went  fasting  to  sleep,  for  we  were 
tired.  Early  next  morning  he  killed  a  small  Antelope,  which 
was  a  blessing  to  us.  Our  guide  now  deserted  us,  and  went 
back  to  the  camp,  this  left  us  in  a  sad  situation  in  these 
Mountains  without  provisions,  or  a  guide ;  the  melting  of  the 
Snow  had  made  every  Brook  a  torrent,  and  did  not  allow  the 
usual  paths  to  be  taken,  we  prayed  the  Almighty  to  reUeve  us. 

On  the  twenty  second  we  waited  with  faint  hopes  for  his 
return,  when  at  ten  am  I  sent  off  two  Men  to  the  camp  of 
the  Kootanae  and  Lake  Indians  to  procure  another  Guide, 
on  their  arrival.  Ugly  Head  (so  named  from  his  hair  curling) 

I  Fiber  2.  osoyoosensis  Ixtrd.     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEY   FROM    KOOTANAE   HOUSE     391 

the  Lake  Indian  Chief  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  bitterly- 
reproached  them  for  want  of  a  strong  heart,  and  contrasting 
their  cowardly  conduct,  with  ours,  who  braved  every  hard- 
ship and  danger  to  bring  them  Arms,  Ammunition  and  all 
their  other  wants  :  calling  upon  them  to  find  a  man,  or  two, 
who  would  be  well  paid  ;  but  none  answered  the  call :  the 
dangers  of  the  Mountains  at  this  season  were  too  great,  and 
too  well  known  to  them,  and  I  was  not  aware  of  this  until 
it  was  too  late  ;  finding  no  answer  given  to  his  call  on  them, 
he  said  while  I  am  aHve,  the  White  Men  who  come  to  us 
with  goods,  shall  not  perish  in  the  Mountains  for  want  of  a 
Guide  and  a  Hunter,  Since  your  hearts  are  all  weak,  I  will 
go  with  them  ;  he  kept  his  word,  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
twenty  fourth  of  May,  he  came  with  the  two  men,  and  I 
thanked  God,  for  the  anxiety  of  my  situation  was  great,  and 
was  now  entirely  relieved,  for  I  knew  the  manly  character  of 
the  Lake  Indian  Chief,  and  justly  placed  confidence  in  him. 

On  the  next  day  our  Guide,  early  went  off  a  hunting, 
but  without  success.  We  set  off  and  came  to  a  large  Brook 
which  we  named  BeauHeu  (the  name  of  one  of  my  faithful 
men)  here  we  had  to  make  a  bridge  of  a  large  Cedar  Tree, 
and  carry  everything  over,  and  crossed  the  Horses  by  a  strong 
line.  About  i-J-  pm,  thank  God,  we  killed  an  Antelope,  and 
by  boiling  and  roasting  on  the  spit,  made  a  hearty  meal,  for 
we  were  all  very  hungry ;  the  rest  of  the  day  was  through 
pathless  woods  over  debris  of  the  Mountains  to  8  pm,  when 
we  had  to  stop  and  lie  down  for  want  of  Hght  to  guide  us. 

On  the  26-^  day  we  as  usual,  set  off  very  early,  our  Guide 
a  hunting  without  success.  We  soon  came  to  a  deep  River 
with  a  strong  current  overflowing  the  low  grounds ;  we  went 
up  it's  rude  banks ;  our  Guide  went  forward,  and  at  4^  pm 
came  to  us  and  told  us,  we  can  go  no  further,  we  must  make 
a  Canoe  to  cross  the  River,^  as  the  Mountains  are  too  steep. 

^  The  Moyie  river  of  the  present  day.     The  name  Moyie  is  a  cxjmip- 
tion  of  the  French  mouiller,  to  wet,  and  was  given  by  the  trappers  owing 


392      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Hungry  and  tired,  with  heavy  hearts  we  set  to  work,  and  got 
the  materials  ready  to  put  together  the  next  morning  ;  In 
the  evening  our  Guide  returned,  quite  undetermined  what 
to  do ;  the  sharp  Rocks  had  cut  our  Horses,  they  could  be 
traced  by  their  blood ;  On  the  27th  our  noble  Guide  told 
us  not  to  make  a  Canoe,  but  try  the  Mountains  higher  up 
the  River,  we  set  off  over  rude  rocks  and  patches  of  pathless 
woods,  both  our  Horses  and  ourselves  weak  and  tired,  at 
length  we  came  to  better  ground  and  a  path  which  led  to 
a  bold  Brook,  which  our  Horses  could  not  cross,  and  we  had 
to  proceed  over  tolerable  ground  with  small  Cypress  Woods ; 
late  in  the  afternoon  we  came  to  a  Family  of  Lake  Indians, 
of  whom  we  got  a  bowlfuU  of  small  dried  Trout,  two  pounds 
of  dried  Meat  and  four  cakes  of  very  clean,  well  made  moss 
bread,  by  far  the  best  we  had  had.  We  were  very  hungry, 
and  with  a  keen  appetite  devoured  the  fish,  the  meat,  and  a 
cake  of  moss  bread.  Our  Guide  told  us  to  camp  for  the 
night,  and  he  would  get  information  of  the  way  through  the 
Mountains,  as  usual.  In  a  straight  line  we  have  come  about 
ten  miles  to-day,  with  the  hard  work  of  full  twenty  miles. 

On  the  28'*"  we  set  off  very  early,  but  soon  came  to  over- 
flowed ground,  and  had  to  take  to  the  Mountains  climbing 
up  the  hills  and  descending  them,  to  the  overflowed  pathless 
woods  up  to  our  middle  in  water,  we  made  slow  progress, 
to  near  Noon,  when  we  stopped  to  refresh  our  Horses,  our 
Guide  telling  us,  that  for  the  present  we  had  passed  the 
inundated  Ground.  We  then  had  a  path  over  tolerable 
ground  to  the  evening,  when  we  put  up  at  a  Lake  from 
which  the  River  comes ;  having  marched  fourteen  miles  in 
a  straight  line  in  nearly  as  many  hours. 

On  the  29'''  we  had  to  proceed   up  along  the  River  to 

to  the  moist  conditions  which  Thompson  describes.  Thompson  else- 
where calls  it  McDonald's  river,  after  his  clerk  Finan  McDonald.  Gover- 
nor Simpson  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  called  it  the  Grand  Qugte, 
after  an  Indian  chief  of  that  name.  The  lakes  mentioned  a  little  farther 
on  are  the  Mo3de  lakes.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY   FROM   ROOT  AN  AE   HOUSE    393 

find  a  place  where  we  could  cross  it,  the  country  tolerable, 
but  [covered  with]  much  fallen  wood  ;  near  noon  our  Giiide 
killed  an  Antelope,  thank  God ;  upon  which  we  made  a 
hearty  meal ;  we  then  proceeded  and  in  the  evening  came 
to  a  place  where  the  River  was  narrow,  but  the  current 
very  strong,  we  put  up,  and  our  Guide  killed  a  Red  Deer : 
which  gave  us  provisions  for  three  days.  Early  next  morning 
we  commenced  cutting  down  large  Cedars  and  Pines  to  fall 
across  the  River  and  form  a  Bridge  to  cross  on,  but  the 
torrent  was  so  rapid,  that  every  tree  we  threw  across  the 
stream  was  either  broken  by  the  Torrent  or  swept  away  : 
as  our  last  hope,  a  fine  Larch  of  full  twelve  feet  girth, 
standing  twenty  four  feet  from  the  bank  was  cut  down, 
and  fell  directly  across  the  River,  but  in  falling  the  middle 
of  the  tree  bended  and  was  caught  by  the  rapid  current, 
the  head  was  swept  from  the  opposite  bank,  the  butt  end  of 
four  feet  diameter  was  carried  off  the  ground,  as  if  it  had 
been  a  Straw  ;  our  last  hope  being  gone,  and  near  noon,  we 
desisted,  and  with  our  Horses  proceeded  up  the  River  to 
the  foot  of  a  steep  Hill,  where  the  River  was  divided  into 
five  channels,  the  channel  next  the  opposite  bank  having 
most  of  the  water  with  it's  headlong  current,  and  on  this 
side  of  it  a  pile  of  drift  wood,  which  we  name  an  Embarras  : 
The  Guide  and  one  of  the  Men  crossed  ;  at  the  fifth  channel 
swiming  their  Horses,  they  then  threw  down  a  number  of 
Aspin  Trees  to  form  a  Bridge  to  the  Embarras,  but  all  were 
broken,  or  swept  away  by  the  current.  I  had  about  three 
hundred  pounds  weight  of  fine  Furrs  which  the  water  would 
injure,  and  I  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  the  four  channels  were 
easily  crossed  to  the  Embarras,  upon  which  we  laid  every- 
thing ;  we  had  now  no  alternative  but  [to]  tie  all  up  in  small 
parcels,  as  hard  as  we  could,  to  be  hauled  across  by  a  Line  of 
Bison  hides,  which  in  the  water  distends  and  becomes  weak ; 
a  hempen  line  contracts  in  the  water  and  becomes  stronger  ; 
we  thus  crossed  everything  but  the  large  parcel,  which  was 


394     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

about  sixty  pounds  of  Beaver,  and  the  little  Baggage  of  two 
of  the  men,  the  line  too  much  distended  broke,  and  the 
parcel  [was]  lost.  We  crossed  swiming  our  Horses  and  thus 
thank  kind  Providence,  crossed  and  got  clear  of  this  terrible 
River  by  sun  set,  and  put  up.  The  next  day  being  fine  we 
spread  out  everything  to  dry  to  ii  am  when  we  set  off,  and 
in  the  evening  camped  at  M'^Gillivray's  River,  having  had  a 
fine  country  all  day.  We  now  raised  the  bark  of  a  large 
white  Pine,  of  which  to  make  a  Canoe  ;  this  work  took  us  a 
day  and  a  half,  when  we  crossed  the  River,  and  held  on  near 
it  to  Skirmish  Brook, ^  at  3  pm,  the  rest  of  the  day  was  spent 
in  throwing  Trees  across  the  Brook  for  a  Bridge  but  they 
were  swept  away.  At  sun  set  we  felled  a  large  Red  Fir  of 
full  ten  feet  girth,  this  broke,  but  served  our  purpose  though 
very  hazardous,  we  all  got  across  and  camped  at  8  pm. 

June  3'^'^ :  Early  set  off  and  passed  two  large  Brooks,  as 
usual  by  throwing  Bridges  of  Trees  across  them.  We  camped 
late,  and  heard  distinctly  a  shot  fired  about  one  mile  from 
us.  Supposing  it  to  be  of  Enemies,  we  passed  a  rainy  night 
under  Arms.  The  next  morning  our  Guide  examined  all 
around  for  the  tracks  of  Men,  or  Horses,  but  found  none, 
he  killed  an  Antelope  of  which  we  were  in  want ;  we  marched 
to  past  5  PM,  when  thank  God,  we  arrived  at  the  last  crossing 
place  of  M'^Gillivrays  River ;  here  we  had  to  make  a  Canoe 
to  cross  it.  On  June  the  5'^  by  5  pm  we  had  all  crossed 
to  M'^Gillivray's  Carrying  Place  to  the  scource  of  the 
Columbia  River.  Here  we  bid  adieu  to  our  manly  humane 
Guide,  without  whose  assistance  we  could  never  have  crossed 

^  This  is  the  Wild  Horse  Creek  of  to-day,  very  prominent  in  mining 
days,  emptying  into  the  Kootenay  at  Fort  Steele.  Almost  opposite  to 
it,  and  flowing  into  the  Kootenay  river  from  the  west,  is  his  Torrent  river, 
now  known  as  St.  Mary's  river.  The  next  stream  crossed  on  the  way 
northward,  as  he  followed  the  east  bank  of  the  main  stream,  was  Lussier 
(now  Sheep)  river,  called  after  one  of  his  men  who  had  recently  lost  his 
baggage  in  crossing  McDonald's  river.  Two  other  streams  are  mentioned 
by  Thompson  as  flowing  into  the  Kootenay  from  the  east,  namely.  Bad 
river,  now  Bull  river,  and  Stag  river,  now  Elk  river.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY   FROM   KOOTANAE    HOUSE     395 

the  secondary  Mountains,  we  had  come  over ;  he  descended 
the  River  for  his  own  Country  which  he  would  reach  in  two 
days.  The  foregoing  tedious  detail,  informs  the  reader  what 
travelling  is  in  high  hilly  countries  when  the  Snow  is  melt- 
ing ;  the  same  Brooks  which  cost  us  so  much  hard  work  and 
were  crossed  with  danger,  in  Autumn  have  very  little  water ; 
and  [are]  almost  everywhere  fordable,  the  water  not  a  foot 
in  depth.  We  were  acquainted  with  the  Kootanae  Country 
before  us,  and  on  the  S'*'  came  to  M'  Finan  M'^Donald,^ 
and  four  Men  in  charge  of  the  Furrs  traded  in  winter,  they 
have  had  also  hard  times,  and  have  been  obliged  to  eat  all 
the  Dogs. 

We  set  off  for  the  Mountain  defiles  to  the  Saskatchewan 
River,  having  killed  a  Horse  for  food ;  at  the  east  end  of  the 
defile  we  had  laid  up  a  large  Birch  Rind  Canoe  which  we 
put  in  good  order ;  the  Snow  was  much  melted  and  the 
upper  part  of  the  River  a  torrent  of  water,  we  had  a  Canoe 
with  three  Men  and  a  Chepaway  Indian  who  had  followed  us 
from  the  Rainy  River  as  Hunter,  he  sat  in  the  middle  of  the 
Canoe,  as  ballast ;  We  embarked  with  the  rising  Sun,  and 
merely  paddled  to  give  the  Canoe  steerage  way  for  guidance, 
the  descent  of  the  River  is  great  in  the  Mountains  and  from 
them,  and  [it]  foamed  against  every  rock.  Snag  or  root  of  a 
Tree  in  it's  current.  Near  sun  set  we  came  to  the  Craigs, 
which  are  about  fifty  feet  of  steep  limestone,  at  the  foot  of 
which,  we  put  up  on  the  beach,  the  Canoe  unloaded,  and 
all  safe  on  shore ;  as  usual  my  share  of  the  work  was  to  light 
the  fire,  while  the  Men  got  wood ;  everything  being  done 
and  the  Kettle  on  the  fire,  I  noticed  the  Indian  sitting  with 

^  According  to  his  journals,  Thompson  reached  his  Kootanae  House, 
then  unoccupied,  on  June  6,  and  thence  continued  down  the  west  bank  of 
the  river  on  horseback  for  about  a  day,  when  he  decided  to  stop,  and  built 
a  canoe  of  the  bark  of  a  pine  tree.  The  next  day,  just  after  starting  in 
his  new  canoe,  he  came  to  where  McDonald  and  his  own  family  were 
camped,  and  they  continued  down  the  river  together  to  the  place  where 
they  were  to  begin  the  crossing  of  the  mountains. 


396     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

his  hands  on  his  knees,  and  his  head  resting  on  his  hands, 
supposing  him  to  be  ill,  I  enquired  what  was  the  matter 
with  him.  Looking  at  me  he  said,  I  cannot  make  myself 
believe,  that  from  where  we  embarked  in  the  Mountains  we 
have  come  here  in  one  day ;  it  must  be  two  days,  and  I 
have  not  slept.  By  my  Journals,  I  found  we  had  come  one 
hundred  and  thirty  two  miles ;  the  first  part  must  have  been 
at  ten  miles  p"  hour,  as  for  the  last  three  hours  the  current 
was  moderate,  and  we  did  not  advance  more  than  five  miles 
p''  hour. 

[We]  embarked  the  Furrs,  and  with  five  men  set  off  for 
the  Rainy  River  House  and  arrived  July  22,  where  we  landed 
our  cargo  of  Furrs,  then  made  up  an  assortment  of  Goods, 
for  two  Canoes,  each  carrying  twenty  pieces  of  ninety  pounds 
weight ;  among  which  I  was  obliged  to  take  two  Kegs  of 
Alcohol,  over  ruled  by  my  Partners  (Mess''*  Don'^  M'^Tavish  and 
Jo  M'^Donald  [of]  Gart[h])  for  I  had  made  it  a  law  to  my- 
self, that  no  alcohol  should  pass  the  Mountains  in  my  com- 
pany, and  thus  be  clear  of  the  sad  sight  of  drunkeness,  and 
it's  many  evils  :  but  these  gentlemen  insisted  upon  alcohol 
being  the  most  profitable  article  that  could  be  taken  for  the 
indian  trade.  In  this  I  knew  they  had  miscalculated  ;  accord- 
mgly  when  we  came  to  the  defiles  of  the  Mountains,  I  placed 
the  two  Kegs  of  Alcohol  on  a  vicious  horse  ;  and  by  noon 
the  Kegs  were  empty,  and  in  pieces,  the  Horse  rubbing  his 
load  against  the  Rocks  to  get  rid  of  it ;  I  wrote  to  my 
partners  what  I  had  done ;  and  that  I  would  do  the  same  to 
every  Keg  of  Alcohol,  and  for  the  next  six  years  I  had  charge 
of  the  furr  trade  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains,  no 
further  attempt  was  made  to  introduce  spirituous  Liquors. 

Near  the  head  of  the  eastern  defile,  we  had  the  good 
fortune  to  kill  two  Bison  Cows  ;  these  animals  often  frequent 
the  gorges  of  the  Mountains  for  the  fresh  grass,  water,  and 
free[dom]  from  flies  ;  but  are  careful  not  to  be  shut  in  by 
impassable  rocks ;    and  on  being  hunted  uniformly  make  for 


JOURNEY   FROM   KOOTANAE   HOUSE     397 

the  open  country  ;  yet  when  found  in  a  narrow  place  I  have 
seen  the  Bisons  take  to  the  rocky  hills  and  go  up  steep  places 
where  they  could  barely  stand,  the  Bison  is  a  strong  head- 
long animal.  While  proceeding  up  the  River/  the  strong 
current  obliging  [the]  Men  to  track  up  the  Canoes,  I  walked 
ahead  for  hunting,  on  a  low  point  of  gravel,  I  mortally  wounded 
a  Doe  Red  Deer,  and  as  she  was  dying  the  Canoes  came  up, 
the  Men  began  skinning  her,  and  one  man  cut  off  her  head, 
upon  this  the  Deer  arose  and  for  half  a  minute  stood  on  her 
feet,  the  Men  became  frightened,  said  she  was  a  devil,  and 
would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  her,  I  cut  a  piece  of 
meat  for  my  supper,  put  it  in  the  Canoe,  and  marched  on, 
when  we  camped,  I  expected  my  piece  of  meat  for  supper, 
but  found  they  had  tossed  it  into  the  River,  and  my  servant 
said  to  the  Aden,  "  Does  he  wish  to  eat  a  piece  of  the  devil, 
if  he  does,  it  is  not  me  that  will  cook  it."  Instances  of  this 
nature  are  known  to  the  Indians,  who  call  them  Seepanee, 
that  is  strong  of  life. 

On  the  21'*  we  laid  up  our  Canoes  for  the  Winter ;  the 
Canoes  rest  upon  their  Gunwales,  on  logs  of  wood  to  keep 
them  about  one  foot  from  the  ground,  the  timbers  are  slightly 
loosened,  to  prevent  the  Birch  Rind  cracking  with  the  frost. 
Pine  Trees,  in  the  form  of  the  roof  of  a  House,  with  all  their 
branches,  are  placed  over  the  Canoes  to  prevent  any  weight 
of  snow  lying  on  the  bottom  of  the  Canoe. 

We  had  now  a  journey  of  ten  days  with  horses  through  the 
defiles  to  the  Columbia  River.  We  had  a  Chepaway  Indian 
with  us  for  a  hunter  who  killed  a  mountain  sheep  ^  in  good 
condition  :  On  the  evening  of  the  31**  October  we  arrived 
at  the  Columbia  River ;  and  found  the  Canoe  we  had  laid 
up  in  bad  order  :  In  this  journey  we  had  plenty  of  provisions, 
the  Hunter  having  killed  two  Goats,  from  the  inside  of  the 
male,  we  had  twelve  pounds  of  soft  grease  ;    also  a  Bison  Bull 

^  The  Saskatchewan  river. 

*  Ovis  canadensis  Shaw.     [E.  A.  P.] 


398      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  two  Cows.  Having  detained  Goods  for  the  cargo  of  the 
Canoe,  I  sent  off  the  Horses  up  the  River  with  the  rest ;  we 
now,  as  usual,  find  a  great  change  in  the  climate,  on  the  east 
side,  hard  frosts  and  deep  snow,  here  on  the  west  side  the 
grass  is  green,  even  all  the  leaves  are  not  fallen  ;  and  our 
poor  half  starved  Horses  will  now  recover  their  flesh,  and 
become  in  good  condition,  and  be  free  from  lameness.  I 
have  noticed  that  we  found  the  Canoe  in  bad  order  ;  rainy 
weather  came  on  and  delayed  us  to  the  afternoon  of  the 
2°^  of  November  when  we  had  the  Canoe  repaired,  and 
embarked  the  Goods  for  to  winter  at  the  Kootanae  House 
of  last  winter,  where  we  arrived  on  the  tenth  of  November, 
and  where  we  shall  winter,  please  God. 


CHAPTER    III 

WINTER   AT  KOOTANAE   HOUSE 

Goods  sent  to  trade  with  the  Lake  Indians — Birds  leave  for  the 
South — Mock  Sun — Arrival  oj  the  birds — Meat  Glaciers — 
Hunting  Wild  Horses — Measurement  oj  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains— Scource  of  Columbia  River — Formation  of  storm 
clouds — Taking  out  winter  trade  of  furrs  in  April — Arrive 
at  Fort  Augustus  on  the  Saskatchewan. 

j4S  the  season  is  too  late  to  proceed  to  the  Saleesh 
/%  Indians ;  Sent  off  Horses  and  Goods  to  the  Lake 
1  m  Indian  country  :  ^  all  in  safety,  as  the  Snow  on  the 
Mountains  is  too  deep  for  a  war  party  to  cross  :  at  M'^Gilli- 
vray's  River  a  Canoe  took  the  Goods,  and  the  Horses  returned 
with  the  Men  in  charge  of  them.  Since  the  lo*''  Inst. 
(November)  the  wild  Geese  have  been  passing  in  great 
numbers  to  the  southward,  but  too  high  for  a  shot,  by  the 
very  latter  end  of  the  Month  the  Geese  and  most  of  the 
Ducks  had  left  us  for  the  southward  but  many  Swans  ^  and 
some  Ducks  remained  in  the  two  Kootanae  Lakes  (the  scources 
of  the  Columbia)  these  Lakes  do  not  freeze  in  the  winter. 

December  22""*.  At  8^  am  the  Sun  was  clear,  and  the 
sky  clear  to  the  left  of  the  Sun,  but  to  the  right  a  dense 
atmosphere  about  twenty  degrees  from  the  Sun,  it's  height 
about  eight  degrees,  and  it's  breadth  full  ten  degrees.  In 
this  a  very  bright  halo  was  formed,  at  times  it  had  the  colours 
of  the  Rainbow,  but  of  a  deeper  tint.     In  the  clear  sky  nothing 

*  This  was  Finan  McDonald's  party  mentioned  in  note  on  page  379. 
'  Trumpeter  Swan.  O lor  buccinator  (Rich.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

399 


400     DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

could  be  seen  ;  about  9  am  the  halo  formed  a  mock  sun 
fully  equal  in  splendor  to  the  real  Sun,  so  that  my  Men 
called  out  there  are  two  Suns,  and  no  doubt  a  similar  appear- 
ance caused  the  supposed  appearance  of  two  Suns  in  Thrace 
as  related  by  Historians.  This  remained  for  about  twenty 
minutes,  when  the  mock  Sun,  began  to  lose  it's  splendor 
and  in  half  an  hour  more  was  not  to  be  seen ;  I  had  seen  fine 
bright  Halos,  but  never  so  perfect  a  mock  Sun. 

1809.  January  5'''.  took  a  wood  Canoe  and  went  down 
to  the  little  Lake,  which  had  upwards  of  one  hundred  Ducks 
about  one  third  of  them  Stock  Ducks,^  the  finest  of  Ducks. 
I  killed  one  Stock  and  three  fishing  Ducks,  the  first  very  good, 
the  latter  bad  tasted,  but  the  Canadian  [s]  eat  them ;  after 
this  I  frequently  killed  one  of  these  ducks  for  a  change. 

January  ii'*".  Two  Swans  came,  but  being  disturbed 
again  left  us.  The  Birds  about  us  are,  the  bald  headed  Eagle,^ 
a  small  Hawk,  the  Raven,^  and  Magpies  *  numerous :  these 
with  the  Raven  frequent  the  edge  of  the  shore  ice  and  make 
sad  havoc  among  the  small  fry  of  fish.  There  are  also  some 
fine  Woodpeckers  ^  with  scarlet  heads  and  a  rich  plumage.  As 
there  was  now  plenty  of  shore  ice  of  sufficient  thickness,  we 
made  a  Glacier  for  frozen  meat.  This  is  a  square  of  about 
twelve  feet,  the  bottom  and  the  sides  lined  with  ice ;  in 
this  we  placed  one  hundred  and  sixty  Thighs  and  shoulders 
of  Red  Deer,  and  forty  seven  Thighs  of  Antelopes  ;  this  is 
necessary,  for  as  soon  as  the  fine  weather  comes  on,  the 
Deer  of  all  species  leave  the  low  lands,  and  retire  for  fresh 
grass  and  shelter  to  the  vallies  of  the  high  Hills.  In  these 
meat  glaciers,  a  layer  of  Meat  is  laid  on  the  ice,  and  then  a 
layer  of  ice,  and  thus  continued  :  when  the  warm  weather 
comes  on,    it  is    covered   with    fine    branches    of   the    Pine, 

1  Mallard,  Anas  platyrhynchos  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 

-  Haliceetus  leucocephalus  alascanus  Townsend.      [E.  A.  P.] 

'  Corvus  corax  principalis  Ridgway.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Pica  pica  hudsonia  (Sabine).     [E.  A.  P.] 

5  Phlceotomus  pileatus  picinus  (Bangs).     [E.  A.  P.] 


WINTER   AT   KOOTANAE   HOUSE       401 

the  ice  is  found  so  much  thawed  that  the  pieces  are  joined 
together,  the  meat  is  also  thawed,  but  remains  very  sound, 
though  [it]  has  lost  it's  juice  and  is  dry  eating.  I  have  even 
seen  the  meat  covered  with  a  kind  of  moss  but  not  in  the  least 
tainted. 

On  the  17""  the  Kootanae  Hunters  brought  six  Red  Deer, 
which  I  had  split  and  dried  for  the  summer  provisions.  On 
the  18*^  a  number  of  handsome  birds  ^  made  their  appearance 
somewhat  larger  than  a  Sparrow,  their  head,  breast  and  back 
of  a  bright  brick  red,  the  rest  of  a  blueish  colour,  the  beak 
short  and  strong ;  three  foreclaws  and  one  hind  claw.  I 
could  not  learn  on  what  they  fed  The  Kootanaes  went  a 
hunting  the  wild  Horses  and  brought  eight  near  to  us,  the 
next  day  my  Men  and  the  Indians  set  off  and  had  a  hard 
day's  chase,  but  caught  none  of  them.  I  have  often  hunted 
and  taken  them,  it  is  a  wild  rough  riding  business,  and  re- 
quires bold  surefooted  Horses.  For  the  wild  Horses  are 
regardless  of  danger,  they  descend  the  steep  sides  of  Hills 
with  as  much  readiness  as  racing  over  the  finest  ground, 
they  appear  to  be  more  headlong  than  the  Deer.  A  dull 
mere  pack  Horse  was  missing,  with  a  man  I  went  to  look 
for  him,  and  found  him  among  a  dozen  wild  Horses,  when 
we  approached,  this  dull  Horse  took  to  himself  all  the 
gestures  of  the  wild  Horses,  his  Nostrils  distended,  mane 
erect,  and  tail  straight  out ;  we  dashed  into  the  herd  and 
flogged  him  out ;  An  Indian  (half  breed)  has  now  eighteen 
of  these  wild  Horses,  which  he  has  caught  and  tamed  ;  and 
we  also  caught  three  of  them. 

The  whole  of  the  latter  part  of  this  month  (January)  fine 
mild  weather  and  the  Swans  frequently  arriving.  Unfortu- 
nately these  Indians,  like  all  others,  when  provisions  are 
plenty,  and  readily  procured  ;  are  much  addicted  to  gambling 
and  thus  lose  several  days  and  nights.  The  water  for  the 
last   half   of   this    month   has    been    rising.     The    month   of 

^  Gray-crowned  Rosy  Finch,  Leucosticte  tephrocotis  Swainson.    [E.  A.  P.] 

2  C 


402     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

February  passed  without  anything  remarkable,  the  weather 
variable,  mostly  mild  with  slight  frosts,  many  Swans  about 
us,  but  they  keep  too  far  from  the  shores ;  we  took  a  few 
wild  Horses.  On  weighing  [we]  found  the  average  weight 
of  the  thigh  of  a  Red  Deer  to  be  thirty-two  pound,  and  the 
whole  of  the  meat  i6o  to  170  lbs. 

March  10.  One  of  my  Men  killed  a  Swan,  and  I  killed 
another,  it  was  in  good  condition  but  not  fat,  and  weighed 
thirty  two  and  a  half  pounds.  Several  flocks  of  Geese,^  those 
we  have  kiUed  are  not  fat.  For  the  first  time  a  Swan  of  the 
lesser  species  ^  was  killed. 

To  ascertain  the  height  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  above 
the  level  of  the  Ocean  had  long  occupied  my  attention,  but 
without  any  satisfaction  to  myself.  I  had  written  to  the  late 
Honble  W""  M*^Gillivray  to  buy  for  me  a  Mountain  Baro- 
meter for  the  measurement  of  these  mountains ;  he  procured 
for  me  a  Mountain  Barometer  which  he  placed  in  the  hands 
of  M"^  John  M'^Donald  of  Gart[h],  a  Partner,  with  a  promise 
to  take  great  care  of  it  and  deliver  it  to  me  in  good  order,  but 
he  tossed  it  on  the  loaded  Canoes,  where  it  was  tossed  about, 
and  when  he  brought  it  to  me  at  the  foot  of  the  Mountains, 
the  case  was  full  of  water,  and  the  Barometer  broken  to  pieces. 
M"  W™  M*^Gillivray  bought  for  me  another  Barometer,  which 
unfortunately  was  delivered  to  the  same  person,  who  made 
the  same  promises,  with  the  same  performance ;  seeing  it  was 
hopeless  to  procure  a  Barometer  I  had  to  follow  the  best 
methods  of  measurement  which  circumstances  allowed.  By 
a  close  estimation  of  the  descent  of  the  Columbia  River  from 
it's  scource  to  the  sea  I  found  it  to  be  5960  feet  (including 
it's  Falls)  in  1348  miles,  being  an  average  of  four  feet  five 
inches  p'^  Mile.     Let  the  descent  at  the  second  Kootanae  Lake  ^ 

>  Branta  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 
^  Whistling  Swan,  Olor  columbianus  (Ord).     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Lake  Windermere  of  the  present  day  ;    its  elevation  is  2,700  feet 
above  sea-level.     [T.  C.  E.] 


WINTER  AT   KOOTANAE   HOUSE       403 

be  5900  [feet]  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ;  here  was  one 
step  gained,  and  the  fine  plains  on  the  east  side  of  this  Lake 
enabled  me  geometrically  to  measure  the  height  of  the 
secondary  Mountains ;  due  east  of  me  were  a  chain  of  bare 
steep  Mountains,  on  which  no  snow  lodged,  and  destitute 
of  vegetation  ;  to  the  west  was  the  rude  pyramid  of  Mount 
Nelson  ^  (for  so  I  named  it) ;  the  Base  Line  was  carefully 
measured,  and  the  Angles  of  the  heights  taken  with  the 
Sextant  in  an  artificial  horizon  of  Quicksilver.  By  this  method 
I  found  the  height  of  Mount  Nelson  to  be  7223  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  Lake,  which  gave  13,123  feet  above  the 
Pacific  Ocean  ;  of  the  secondary  Mountains  on  the  east  side, 
of  one  Peak  10,889  feet,  and  another  10,825  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  but  for  the  primitive  Mountains  I  could  not 
find  a  place  from  which  to  obtain  a  measurement  and  be  in 
safety  ;  but  5000  feet  may  safely  be  added  to  the  height  of 
Mount  Nelson  to  give  the  height  of  the  primitive  Mountains. 
At  the  greatest  elevation  of  the  passage  across  the  Mountains 
by  the  Athabasca  River,  the  point  by  boiling  water  gave 
11,000  feet,  and  the  peaks  of  the  Mountains  are  full  7000  feet 
above  this  passage,  and  the  general  height  may  be  fairly  taken 
at  18,000  feet  above  the  Pacific  Ocean.^  Major  Long  of  the 
United  States  Engineers  in  his  topographical  Survey,  under 
the  orders  of  the  Executive  in  the  Map  of  his  Survey,  places 
the  ancient  Ocean  at  a  level  of  6000  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  present  sea  ;  and  the  highest  of  the  Mountains  (Lati- 
tude 38°  North)  to  be  11,000  feet  above  the  present  sea  of 
the  Atlantic,  but  he  has  not  given  us  any  data  for  the  above 

1  Still  known  officially  as  Mount  Nelson,  but  locally  as  Mount  Ham- 
mond. Thompson  acquired  a  great  admiration  for  this  peak,  which  is 
directly  west  of  his  Kootanae  House  ;  the  entire  Selkirk  range  is  called 
the  Nelson  Mountains  on  his  map.  The  altitude  of  Mount  Nelson  by 
aneroid  barometer  is  given  by  A.  O.  Wheeler  {The  Selkirk  Mountains, 
Winnipeg,  1902,  p.  128)  as  12,125  feet.     [T.  C.  E.] 

*  The  height  of  the  summit  of  Athabaska  Pass  is  6,025  feet,  and  the 
highest  peak  near  the  pass  is  9,000  feet  above  sea-level. 


404      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

assumed  levels,  on  his  Map.  Southward  of  the  Latitude  of 
47°  north  I  am  not  acquainted  with  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
At  the  foot  of  the  above  steep  bare  measured  Mountains  is 
the  scource  of  the  Columbia  River,  it  is  a  Lake^  of  nine  Miles 
in  length  hy  if  miles  in  width,  it's  direction  nearly  due  south 
and  north,  it  receives  no  Water  from  the  east,  nor  from  the 
high  rolling  lands  from  Mount  Nelson  on  the  West,  but 
appeared  wholly  suppUed  by  springs  in  the  Lake,  it  appeared 
to  have  always  the  same  level ;  and  from  it's  north  end  it 
sends  out  a  Brook  which  forms  a  second  Lake,  from  which  I 
measured  the  Mountains.  This  River  is  perhaps  the  only 
River  that  is  navigable  from  the  sea  to  it's  utmost  scource. 
On  the  steep,  bare,  sides  of  these  Mountains  I  twice  saw  the 
first  formation  of  the  clouds  of  a  Storm.  Its  first  direction 
was  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  eastward  up  the  valley  of  the 
lower  Columbia  River,  and  M'^GilHvray's  River,  from  which 
the  Hills  forced  it  from  east  to  north  ;  the  Sun  was  shining 
on  these  steep  Rocks  when  the  clouds  of  the  Storm  entered 
about  2000  feet  above  the  level  ground  ;  in  large  revolving 
circles,  the  northern  edge  of  the  circle  behind  cutting 
in  it's  revolution  the  centre  of  the  circle  before  it,  and 
thus  circle  within  circle  for  nearly  twenty  miles  along  these 
high  Hills  until  the  clouds  closed  on  me,  and  all  was 
obscurity  :  it  was  a  grand  sight,  and  deeply  rivetted  my 
attention. 

April.  A  month  of  summer  weather,  in  the  very  begin- 
ning of  this  month  all  the  birds  were  laying  Eggs.  The 
Rooks  [were]  in  flocks  ;  the  grass  green,  and  the  Woods  with 
young  leaves  :  On  the  17''',  in  two  middle  sized  Canoes, 
and  a  few  loaded  Horses,  began  descending  the  River  with 
the   Furrs    and   720   lbs   of   dried   provisions    to   place   them 

1  The  Upper  Columbia  lake.  Its  elevation  is  practically  the  same 
as  that  of  Lake  Windermere,  2,700  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  No 
stream  enters  this  lake  directly  from  the  mountain  ranges  ;  its  supply 
comes  by  underground  channels  from  the  Kootenay  river. 


WINTER  AT   KOOTANAE   HOUSE       405 

beyond  the  low  lands,  which  will  soon  be  overflowed ;  as 
the  Snow  on  the  high  Hills  is  fast  melting,  for  although  our 
Latitude  is  50^  degrees  north  yet  the  climate  is  as  mild  as 
the  Latitude  of  42  degrees  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains  : 
and  this  month  was  spent  in  getting  the  furrs  and  provisions 
to  a  safe  place,  and  making  a  strong  hoard  in  a  steep  bank 
of  earth,  to  place  all  our  lumber  and  baggage  not  required  : 
everything  was  now  Summer  and  the  water  overflowing  the 
low  grounds.  We  were  every  day  busy  with  taking  the 
Horses  down  the  River,  the  Men  were  too  few  to  manage 
them,  and  where  the  country  was  rude  could  only  take  half 
of  them  in  a  day  :  In  the  Canoe  I  had  made  a  shift  to 
maintain  myself  and  those  with  me  ;  but  the  men  in  charge 
of  the  Horses  killed  three  for  food,  of  which  only  two  were 
eatable ;  We  had  now  arrived  at  the  Mountain  Carrying 
Place,  and  had  to  find,  and  raise  Birch  Rind  to  make  a  Canoe 
at  the  other  end,  this  was  a  scarce  article,  plenty  of  it,  but 
too  thin,  and  it  occupied  two  days  to  find  enough.  In  the 
afternoon  of  June  9*'',  we  left  the  Columbia  River,  and 
entered  the  defiles  of  the  Mountains,  each  two  men  had  five 
loaded  Horses  in  charge,  each  horse  carrying  two  packs  each 
of  seventy  five  pounds  ;  but  as  all  these  defiles  have  a  small 
River  running  through  them,  which  is  constantly  traversing 
the  defile  from  side  to  side,  it  has  to  be  continually  crossed  ; 
we  were  too  late,  the  water  had  risen,  and  the  Horses  could 
not  be  kept  following  the  Men  in  charge,  so  that  they  often 
crossed  swiming  and  wetted  the  Furrs. 

On  the  evening  of  the  18'^,  we  had  passed  the  defiles, 
and  were  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Saskatchewan  River, 
where  it  is  barely  navigable  with  care  :  here  I  had  my  two 
Canoes  of  last  Autumn,  (which  had  been  carefully  laid  up) 
brought  and  put  in  good  order.  As  the  weather  was  rainy 
we  had  to  lose  time  in  drying  the  Furrs  ;  and  it  was  near  noon 
on  the  21^'  June  [when]  we  got  all  ready  and  embarked  the 
Furrs  with  five  men  to  each  Canoe,     On  the  24*''  we  arrived 


406      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

at  Fort  Augustus  on  the  Saskatchewan  ;  where  everything 
was  put  in  good  order  assisted  by  M'  James  Hughes  who  is 
in  charge  of  the  place.  On  the  27**"  of  June  early,  under  the 
care  of  Parenteau,  the  Guide  [I]  sent  off  the  two  Canoes 
for  the  Rainy  River  House  ;  there  to  discharge  the  Furrs 
and  return  with  merchandise. 


CHAPTER    IV 

ESTABLISH   TRADE   RELATIONS   WITH 
THE  SALEESH   INDIANS 

Start  on  return  journey  to  the  Mountains — Send  horses  back  and 
embark  in  canoes — Geology  of  the  defiles  of  the  mountains — 
Arrive  at  the  Columbia  River — Canoes  laid  up  at  M'Gilli- 
vrafs  River — Set  of  on  horses  for  Saleesh  River — Arrive 
at  Saleesh  River — Establish  a  trading  post  on  the  Saleesh 
River — Build  a  store  house — Build  a  dwelling  house — A 
journey  to  discover  a  new  crossing  place  in  the  mountains — 
Meet  a  camp  of  Indians — Arrive  back  at  Saleesh  House — 
Set  off  to  meet  Merchandise  from  Rainy  Lake — Reach 
M'^Gillivray's  River — Return  to  Saleesh  House — Want  of 
food — Finish  Houses — Temperature  on  the  west  side  of 
Rocky  Mountains — Hunting  for  beaver  and  birch  rind — 
M'  Coulter  killed  by  the  Peeagans — Meet  tents  of  Saleesh 
Indians — Arrive  back  at  Saleesh  camp — Character  of 
country — Morality  of  Saleesh  Indians — Saleesh  Indians  go 
to  war  on  the  Peeagans — Peeagans  defeated. 

JULY  I4'\  Under  the  charge  of  M^  Finan  M*=Donald 
sent  a  Canoe  off  for  the  defiles  of  the  Mountains, 
it's  cargo  four  pieces  of  Merchandise :  weighing 
320  lbs.  four,  nine  gallons  kegs  of  greese  (the  melted  fat  of 
the  Bison)  and  five  bags  of  Pemmican,  each  of  ninety  pounds, 
with  five  men,  a  less  number  could  not  stem  the  current. 
With  two  men  and  Horses  I  went  by  land,  but  the  woods  had 
been  lately  burned,  the  path  could  not  be  kept,  I  therefore 
sent  a  Man  with  the  Horses  back  to  Fort  Augustus  to  M"^ 

Hughes,  and  embarked  in  the  Canoe.     The  strength  of  the 

407 


408     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

current  obliged  us  to  make  constant  use  of  the  tow  line,  in  a 
few  places  to  make  a  change  of  labor,  we  went  up  with  Poles, 
this  is  hard  work,  and  puts  water  in  the  Canoe.  Thus  we 
continued  to  the  9*^  day  of  August,  hunting  for  a  livelihood, 
kiUing  a  Bull  Bison  (there  were  no  Cows)  a  Red  Deer,  or  a 
Mountain  Sheep.  So  that  we  did  very  well  for  Provisions  : 
At  the  east  end  of  the  defiles,  the  banks  are  of  sand  Stone, 
and  make  excellent  grindstones.  There  is  also  much  petrified 
wood ;  from  many  places  of  the  banks  a  white  siHcious  water 
was  trickhng  which  petrifies  everything  it  comes  on,  and 
forms  layers  of  sandstone,  the  whole  well  deserves  the  atten- 
tion of  the  geologist,  for  nature  acts  on  a  great  scale  :  none 
of  the  countries  have  ever  been  inspected  by  a  regular  geo- 
logist ;  and  it  is  a  strange  fact  that  hot  springs,  so  common  in 
Europe,  in  the  great  extent  of  my  travels  have  never  been 
seen  by  me,  nor  do  the  Indians  know  of  any.^ 

Having  carefully  laid  up  our  Canoe,  we  went  through  the 
defiles  with  our  Horses,  and  on  the  13*''  of  August  arrived, 
thank  God,  all  well  at  the  Columbia  River ;  here  were  two 
Canoes,  which  we  had  laid  up,  and  which  we  now  put  in 
order ;  and  proceeded  up  the  River,  and  to  the  head  Lake, 
the  scource  of  the  Columbia  River,  from  which  there  is  a 
good  Carrying  Place  ^  of  two  miles  to  M'^GiUivray's  River, 
course  due  South. 

We  were  fortunate  enough  in  hunting  to  secure  provisions 
and  a  few  tolerably  good  Salmon  were  speared  in  the  lower 
Lake.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  20'^  we  embarked  on 
M'^GilHvray's  River,  and  went  down  it,  safely  over  the 
Rapids  and  Falls,  to  the  Road^  to  the  Saleesh  River,  on  the 

*  It  is  remarkable  that  Thompson  did  not  hear  of  the  hot  springs 
which  are  situated  a  few  miles  from  his  Kootanae  House,  near  the  lower 
end  of  Upj>er  Columbia  lake. 

*  This  is  Canal  Flat  of  the  present  day.     [T.  C.  E.] 

'  Thompson  has  come  from  the  mouth  of  Blaeberry  Creek  on  the 
Columbia  by  his  regular  route,  up  that  river  to  Columbia  lake,  across 
the  portage,  and  then  down  the   Kootenay  river.     He  now  lays  up  his 


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TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  409 

evening  of  the  29'^  instant  :  As  we  have  now  to  proceed 
with  Horses  only ;  laid  up  the  Canoes  for  the  winter  ;  and 
arranged  everything  to  be  transported  by  Horses  to  the 
Saleesh  River.  The  Latitude  of  this  remarkable  place  is 
48°  .  42I'  N.  Longitude  116°  .  o'  .  8"  West  of  Greenwich 

On  my  arrival  here,  I  had  sent  off  M"  Finan  M'^Donald 
and  a  man  to  follow  the  road  to  the  Saleesh  River,  and  find 
the  camp  of  those  Indians,  to  bring  Horses  and  help  us  through 
the  River.  On  the  5'''  of  September,  sixteen  men  with 
twenty  five  Horses  arrived,  they  brought  us  Hues  to  tie  the 
loads  on  the  Horses  :  they  appeared  a  mild  intelHgent  race 
of  men ;  in  whom  confidence  could  be  placed  :  they  lent  to 
us  fourteen  Horses,  which  we  loaded,  and  with  those  we  had  ; 
set  off  ;  we  went  S  15  E  3  Miles  to  the  foot  of  a  high  bank,^ 
so  steep  that  the  Horses  often  rolled  down,  at  length  all 
got  up  ;  which  took  us  four  and  a  half  hours ;  we  then  went 
five  miles  to  a  Brook,  and  put  up  ;  the  Road  and  Country 
good,  the  former  often  too  narrow  for  our  loaded  Horses, 
and  we  had  to  cut  down  many  small  trees. 

Sept""  y^^  we  advanced  sixteen  and  a  half  miles,  crossed 
a  large  Brook  three  times  from  it's  windings,  the  Woods  of 
several  kinds  of  Firs  and  Pines,  with  plenty  of  Cedar,  the 
ground  good  and  level :  September  8"".  Having  gone  one 
Mile  we  crossed  a  fine  brook  of  fifteen  yards  in  width  ;  easy 
current  and  deep,  but  had  good  fording  places  :  we  went 
on  six  miles  to  a  Rill,  which  we  followed  for  near  two  miles  ; 

canoes  near  Bonner's  Ferry,  Idaho,  close  to  the  place  where  he  had  landed 
and  met  the  camp  of  Indians  on  May  8  the  year  before.  This  trail  or 
"  road  "  crossed  the  divide  between  Deep  Creek  flowing  into  the  Kootenay 
river,  and  Pack  river  flowing  into  Pend  d'Oreille  lake,  and  reached  the 
lake  a  little  east  of  Sand  Point.     [T.  C.  E.] 

^  This  very  steep  hill  is  fresh  in  the  memories  of  those  who  have 
travelled  this  trail  ;  it  is  about  four  miles  south  of  Bonner's  Ferry,  Idaho. 
The  "  brook  "  five  miles  farther  on  is  Brown's  Creek,  and  the  large  brook 
crossed  three  times  is  Deep  Creek.  Pack  river  is  the  "  fine  brook  fifteen 
yards  in  width  "  ;  and  the  "  rill  "  is  Mud  Slough  entering  Lake  Pend 
d'Oreille.     [T.  C.  E.] 


410      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  came  to  a  Lake ;  ^  here  Canoes  met  us,  made  of  Pine 
Bark,  and  the  Indians  embarked  twenty  pieces  of  Goods  and 
Baggage,  they  advanced  SE.  about  five  miles,  when  the  wind 
obliged  them  to  put  ashore  ;  and  we  also  camped  ;  to  day 
we  have  killed  four  geese  and  one  crane,^  all  good. 

The  next  day  the  Canoes  set  off,  but  the  wind  rising  we 
had  to  take  part  of  the  cargo's  of  the  Canoes  on  the  Horses, 
at  2  PM,  thank  God,  we  arrived  all  well  at  the  Saleesh  River ; 
here  we  were  met  by  fifty  four  Saleesh  Indians ;  Twenty 
Three  Skeetshoo  ;  and  four  Kootanae  Indians,  in  all  eighty 
men,  and  their  families  ;  they  made  us  an  acceptable  present 
of  dried  Salmon  and  other  Fish,  with  Berries,  and  the  meat 
of  an  Antelope.  The  next  day  with  two  Indians  [I]  went 
to  look  for  a  place  to  build  a  House  for  trading  ;  we  found  a 
place,  but  the  soil  was  light,  and  had  no  blue  clay  which  is 
so  very  necessary  for  plaistering  between  the  Logs  of  the 
House  and  especially  the  roofing ;  as  at  this  time  of  year, 
the  bark  of  the  Pine  Tree  cannot  be  raised  to  cover  the  Roof, 
for  want  of  which,  we  had  an  unco[mfo]rtable  House.  We 
removed  to  the  place  and  set  up  our  Tents  and  a  Lodge.* 
On  the  ii**"  we  made  a  scaffold  to  secure  the  provisions  and 
goods,  helved  our  Tools  ready  to  commence  building  ;    our 

*  This  is  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille.  Here  the  trail  divided,  one  branch 
leading  westward  (of  which  we  shall  learn  later),  and  the  other  eastward 
to  the  Flathead  country  along  the  line  of  the  present  Northern  Pacific 
Railway.  Thompson,  with  some  of  his  party,  became  the  guests  of  the 
Indians  in  their  canoes  ;  but  the  others  followed  the  trail  eastward  along 
the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  on  September  9  at  2  p.m.  they  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Saleesh  (now  Clark's  Fork)  river.     [T.  C.  E.] 

'  Probably  Grus  mexicana  (Miill.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

'  This  is  Thompson's  "  Kullyspell  House,"  built  on  a  point  extending 
into  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille  between  Hope  and  Clark's  Fork  stations  on  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway,  and  near  the  mouth  of  Clark's  Fork  river. 
Coues  identified  it  with  Hodgkins  Point  (see  New  Light,  p.  673).  This 
trading  post  was  maintained  for  only  a  few  years,  although  it  was  on  the 
direct  road  between  Spokane  House  and  the  Flathead  Fort.  Thompson 
refers  to  it  in  this  text  as  "  Saleesh  House,"  but  it  must  not  be  confused 
with  the  house  of  that  name  noted  on  his  map,  of  which  we  shall  learn 
later.     [T.  C.  E.] 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  411 

first  care  was  a  strong  Log  building  for  the  Goods  and  Furrs, 
and  for  trading  with  the  Natives.  Our  arrival  rejoiced  them 
very  much,  for  except  the  four  Kootanaes  their  only  arms 
were  a  few  rude  lances,  and  flint  headed  Arrows.  Good 
bowmen  as  they  are,  these  arrow  heads  broke  against  the 
Shield  of  tough  Bison  hide,  or  even  against  thick  leather 
could  do  no  harm  ;  their  only  aim  was  the  face  :  these 
they  were  now  to  exchange  for  Guns,  Ammunition  and  Iron 
headed  arrows,  and  thus  be  on  an  equality  with  their  enemies, 
for  they  were  fully  their  equals  in  courage  :  but  I  informed 
them,  that  to  procure  these  advantages  they  must  not  pass 
days  and  nights  in  gambling,  but  be  industrious  in  hunting 
and  working  of  Beaver  and  other  furrs,  all  which  they  pro- 
mised :  some  few  distant  Indians,  hearing  of  our  arrival, 
came  with  a  few  furrs,  but  took  only  iron  work  for  them  ; 
everything  else  they  paid  no  attention  to,  even  the  women' 
preferred  an  awl  or  a  needle  to  blue  beads,  the  favorite  of 
the  sex  for  ornament.  All  those  who  could  procure  Guns 
soon  became  good  shots,  which  the  Peeagan  Indians,  their 
enemies  in  the  next  battle  severely  felt ;  for  they  are  not 
good  shots,  except  a  few  ;  they  are  accustomed  to  fire  at  the 
Bison  on  horseback,  within  a  few  feet  of  the  animal,  it  gives 
them  no  practice  at  long  shots  at  small  marks.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  Indians  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains  are 
acGUStomed  to  fire  at  the  small  Antelope  at  a  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  yards,  which  is  a  great  advantage 
in  battle,  where  everyone  marks  out  his  man. 

On  the  23rd  we  had  finished  the  Store  House.  To  make 
the  roof  as  tight  as  possible,  which  was  covered  with  small 
Logs,  we  cut  long  grass  and  work[ed]  it  up  with  mud,  and  filled 
up  the  intervals  of  the  small  logs  which  answered  tolerable 
well  for  Rain,  but  the  Snow  in  melting  found  many  a 
passage  ;  in  this  manner  we  also  builded  our  dwelling  House  ; 
and  roofed  it,  the  floors  were  of  spHt  Logs,  with  the  round 
side  downwards,  notched  so  as  to  lie  firm  on  the  Sleepers, 


412      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

and  made  smooth  with  the  Adze  ;  our  Chimneys  were  made 
of  stone  and  mud  rudely  worked  for  about  six  feet  in  height 
and  eighteen  inches  thick,  the  rest  of  layers  of  grass  and 
mud  worked  round  strong  poles  inserted  in  the  stone  work, 
with  cross  pieces,  and  thus  carried  up  to  about  four  feet 
above  the  roof  ;  the  fire  place  is  raised  a  Httle,  and  three  to 
four  feet  in  width  by  about  fifteen  inches  in  depth.  The 
wood  is  cut  about  three  feet  in  length,  and  placed  on  the  end, 
and  as  it  costs  nothing  but  the  labor  of  cutting  we  are  not 
sparing  of  it : 

September  27"".  In  order  to  examine  the  Country  along 
the  River  below  us,  with  four  Horses,  one  of  my  Men,  by 
name  Beaulieu  and  an  Indian  Lad,  set  off,  my  view  was  to 
see  if  we  cannot  change  our  Route  to  cross  the  Mountains, 
as  at  present  we  are  too  much  exposed  to  the  incursions  of 
the  Peeagan  Indians ;  we  found  the  country  along  the  River 
of  a  rich  soil  weU  clothed  with  grass,  as  low  meadows ;  the 
River  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred  yards 
wide,  the  current  moderate,  and  many  Fowl,  the  most 
numerous,  was  the  Brent  Goose,^  the  smallest  of  the  species 
of  wild  goose,  but  equal  to  the  others  in  flavor  and  taste. 
On  the  29^  we  came  to  a  Fall  of  the  River,  the  carrying 
place  only  twenty  yards.  September  30th.  As  usual  went 
down  along  the  River,  keeping  mostly  in  the  Woods  :  for 
firm  ground.  The  Red  Fir  (from  the  color  of  the  bark)  is  of 
very  fine  growth,  tall  and  numbers  of  eighteen  feet  girth, 
some  few  were  more,  with  the  white  Fir  and  Pine,  Birch, 
Poplar  and  Aspin.  The  HiUs  distant  and  not  high.  At 
Noon  we  came  to  where  the  River  is  much  expanded  ; '  here 

'  Branta  c.  hutchinsi  (Rich.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  This  is  about  opposite  the  town  of  Cusick  in  the  State  of  Washington. 
Thompson  followed  the  north  shore  of  the  lake  from  his  Kullyspell  House 
to  the  mouth  of  Pack  river  (Kootenay  Landing),  and  then  continued 
westward  along  the  north  bank  of  the  Pend  d'Oreille  lake  and  river 
to  the  special  habitat  of  the  Calispell  Indians  of  to-day.  Here  the  Pend 
d'Oreille  river  and  valley  widen  for  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles. 
[T.  C.  E.] 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  413 

we  saw  the  Tents  of  a  few  Indians,  our  Indian  called  to  them, 
they  came  with  a  Canoe,  and  crossed  him  ;   he  soon  returned, 
and  pine  bark  canoes  with  six  Men,  two  Women  and  three 
Boys  came  to  us.     As  usual  an  old  Man  made  a  short  speech, 
and  made  a  Present  of  two  cakes  of  root  bread  (not  moss) 
twelve  pounds  of  Roots,^  two  dried  Salmon,  and  some  boiled 
Beaver  Meat  which  I  paid  for  in  Tobacco  ;   These  Roots  are 
about  the  size  of  a  Nutmeg,  they  are  near  the  surface,  and 
[are]  turned  up  with  a  pointed  Stick,  they  are  farinaceous,  of 
a  pleasant  taste,   easily   masticated,    and  nutritive,  they  are 
found  in  the  small  meadows  of  short  grass,  in  a  rich  soil,  and 
a  short  exposure  to  the  Sun  dries  them  sufficiently  to  keep 
for  years.     I  have  some  by  me  which  were  dug  up  in  1811 
and  are  now  thirty  six  years  old  (1847)  and  are  in  good  pre- 
servation.    I  showed  them  to  the   late  Lord  Metcalfe  who 
eat   two  of  them,   and  found  them   something  like  bread ; 
but  although  in  good  preservation,  they,  in  two  years  lost 
their  fine  aromatic  smell.     These  poor    people  informed  me 
there  were  plenty  of  Beaver  about  them  and  the  country, 
but  they  had  nothing  but  pointed  Sticks  to  work  them,  not 
an  axe  among  them.     I  enquired  of  the  Road  before  us,  they 
said  it  was  bad  for  Horses ;    then  how  is  this  River  to  where 
it  falls  into  the  Columbia,  they  said  it  was  good,  and  had 
only  one  Fall  to  that  River  ;   I  requested  them  to  let  me  have 
a  Canoe,  and  one  of  them  to  come  with  us  as  a  guide,  to 
which  they  readily  assented,  and  tomorrow  morning  we  are 
to  set  off  down  the  River.     This  account  of  the  River  below 
us  differs  very  much  from  the  description  of  this  River  by 
the  Lake   Indian   Chief,   whose   information   I   could  always 
depend  on,  he  described  the  River  above  where  it  enters  the 
Columbia  to  be  a  series  of  heavy  Falls  for  one  and  a  half 
day's  march  to  the  smooth  water,  the  sides  of  the  Falls  steep 
basalt  rocks. 

October  i'*.     This  morning  they  came  with  an  old  useless 
^  Camas,  Quamasia  quamash  (Pursh).     [E.  A.  P.] 


414      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Canoe,  which  I  refused,  and  they  soon  returned  with  a  good 
canoe.  We  left  the  Indian  in  care  of  the  Horses,  until  we 
should  return.  We  descended  the  River  till  late  in  the  after- 
noon, when  heavy  rain  obliged  us  to  put  up  for  the  night.^ 
The  next  day  we  descended  the  River  for  three  hours.  The 
River  had  contracted,  and  the  current  [was]  swift,  full  near 
four  miles  p"  hour.  This  brought  us  in  sight  of  a  range  of 
high  rude  Hills  covered  with  Snow,  I  enquired  of  our  Guide 
where  the  River  passed,  he  said,  he  could  not  tell,  he  had 
never  been  on  the  River  before ;  vexed  with  him,  I  saw 
plainly  the  description  of  the  lower  part  of  this  River  by  the 
Lake  Indian  Chief  was  too  true,  and  we  had  to  turn  about, 
having  come  about  twenty  six  miles  in  a  WNW  course.  The 
same  fine  Woods  near  the  River  with  fine  Larch.  We  came 
to  where  we  had  left  our  Horses,  having  killed  seven  Geese 
and  two  teal  Ducks ;  ^  the  Indians  gave  us  a  good  Antelope, 
so  that  we  are  rich.  And  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth,  we 
found  ourselves  with  fifteen  Geese,  one  Antelope,  one  Beaver, 
fifty  pounds  of  dried  Salmon,  and  the  same  number  of  Roots  : 
October  6^^.  in  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  the  Saleesh 
House,^  aU  well  thank  God.  AU  along  our  journey  the  River 
had  plenty  of  Swans,  Geese,  Ducks,  Cranes  and  Plover.  We 
have  come  seventy  five  miles,  which  with  twenty  six,  makes 
loi  miles  that  we  have  examined  this  fine  River,  and  the 
country  about  it,  which  some  day  will  be  under  the  Plough 
and  the  Harrow,  and  probably  by  the  Natives,  who  are  a 
very  different  race  of  people  from  those  on  the  east  side. 
These  latter  seem  utterly  averse  to  every  kind  of  manual  labour, 
they  will  not  even  make  a  pipe  stem  their  great  favorite, 
which  is  the  trifling  work  of  a  day,  and  takes  them  a  month  ; 

1  In  his  borrowed  canoe,  Thompson  proceeded  down  the  Pend  d 'Oreille 
river  about  one  full  day's  journey  ("  29  miles,"  according  to  his  notes), 
but  took  two  and  a  half  days  for  his  return.  He  went  nearly  to  the 
Box  Canon.     [T.  C.  E.] 

*  Nettion  carolinense  (Gmel.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Kullyspell  House  is  meant.     See  note  on  p.  410. 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  415 

those  on  the  west  side  pride  themselves  on  their  industry, 
and  their  skill  in  doing  anything,  and  are  as  neat  in  their 
persons  as  circumstances  will  allow,  but  without  Soap,  there 
is  no  effectual  cleanHness ;  this  we  know  very  well,  who,  too 
often  experience  the  want  of  it.  Take  Soap  from  the  boasted 
cleanliness  of  the  civilized  man,  and  he  will  not  be  as  cleanly 
as  the  Savage  who  never  knew  it's  use.  During  my  absence 
forty  four  Skeetshoo  Indians  came  to  the  House,  and  traded 
near  two  hundred  pounds  weight  of  Furrs,  and  three  Horses. 

October  y'*'.  Having  cut  the  Logs  for  the  House,  we 
began  hauling  them,  to  the  place  for  the  House. 

October  ii**".  I  set  off  with  Horses,  two  men  and  a 
Guide  to  meet  the  Canoes  from  the  Rainy  Lake  with  Goods 
for  the  Trade  of  the  Natives.^  We  went  about  ten  miles  to 
the  top  of  the  River  Hills,  the  first  part  had  very  fine  woods, 
the  white  Cedar  was  often  four  to  five  fathoms  girth,  clean 
and  tall  in  proportion,  the  Larch  and  Red  Fir  very  fine. 
On  the  20'*"  October  we  arrived  at  M'^GiUivray's  River, 
having  come  about  201  miles  over  hilly  countries,  with  many 
small  Meadows,  and  finely  wooded  with  the  Red  Fir,  Larch, 
Pine,  Poplar,  Aspin  and  a  few  others.     M'  James  McMillan  ^ 

1  For  the  actual  itinerary  from  October  1 1  to  November  9,  see  p.  xci. 

*  James  McMillan  is  identical  with  the  "  A.  McMillan  "  mentioned  by 
Coues  in  his  New  Light.  He  was  closely  associated  with  Thompson 
in  his  work  to  the  west  of  the  mountains.  In  March,  1808,  he  made 
a  trip  with  dogs  across  the  mountains  from  Fort  Augustus  to  Fort 
Kootanae,  and  carried  back  a  load  of  furs.  Later  in  the  same  spring 
he  met  Thompson  at  the  Kootenay  Plain  with  horses  to  carry  him 
to  Fort  Augustus.  In  the  autumn  of  1808,  he  returned  with  Thompson 
to  the  Columbia,  and  spent  the  winter  with  him  at  Fort  Kootanae  and 
with  Finan  McDonald  at  the  falls  of  the  Kootenay  river.  In  the  spring 
of  1809  he  returned  across  the  mountains,  but  as  is  stated  in  the  text, 
he  was  back  at  the  Kootenay  river  later  in  the  year.  In  the  spring  of 
1 810,  he  again  accompanied  Thompson  eastward  with  the  furs  ;  and 
when  later  in  1810  Joseph  Howse  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  made 
his  first  trip  across  the  mountains  to  the  Columbia  river,  McMillan 
followed  him  closely  to  Flathead  lake.  During  the  winter  of  181 1,  he 
returned  to  Rocky  Mountain  House  on  the  Saskatchewan  river  ;  and  in 
the  summer  of  the  same  year,  he  accompanied  John  McDonald  of  Garth 


416      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

in  charge  of  the  Canoes  with  Goods  for  the  trade,  had 
arrived ;  here  we  separated  the  Goods  for  the  different 
Posts  to  trade  with  the  Natives ;  and  with  Horses  trans- 
ported the  Goods  over  these  hilly  countries,  very  fatigueing 
to  the  Horses  and  ourselves.  On  the  9*''  of  November, 
thank  God  we  arrived  at  the  place  we  had  builded  a  Store,^ 
and  were  now  to  build  a  House  for  ourselves.  Four  of  the 
Horses  were  left  behind,  knocked  up  with  fatigue.  We  had 
experienced  much  bad  weather  in  drizzHng  rain,  and  showers 
of  Snow  which  soon  melted,  and  had  to  dry  everything.  We 
were  all  of  us  very  hungry,  having  had  but  Httle  on  the  Road : 
there  were  some  Indians  near  us,  of  whom  we  tried  to  buy  a 
horse  for  food,  our  own  were  too  poor  to  be  eaten,  and  we 
fasted,  except  for  a  chance  Goose  or  Duck  amongst  us,  until 
the  14*^,  when  Jaco,^  a  fine  half  breed  arrived  and  relieved 
us.  From  him  we  traded  twenty  eight  Beaver  Tails,  forty 
pounds  of  Beat  Meat,  thirty  pounds  of  dried  meat,  and  now, 
we  all,  thank  God,  enjoyed  a  good  meal.     We  continued  to 

and  J.  G.  McTavish  up  the  Saskatchewan  river  and  across  the  mountains 
by  Howse  Pass  to  bring  supplies  to  David  Thompson  on  the  Columbia 
river  (see  note  on  p.  539).  McMillan  appears  to  have  been  a  very  intelli- 
gent man  ;  he  became  a  Chief  Factor,  and  remained  in  the  Columbia 
district  until  1829  at  least.  While  he  was  with  the  North-West  Company, 
his  service  was  usually  at  the  Flathead  and  Spokane  posts.  After  the 
union  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  North-West  Companies,  he  was  one  of 
the  officers  who  met  Governor  Simpson  at  Boat  Encampment  in  the 
autumn  of  1824.  He  accompanied  Simpson  to  Fort  George,  and  was 
there  placed  in  command  of  the  expedition  sent  in  November,  1824,  to 
explore  the  shore-line  of  Puget  Sound  and  the  waters  of  the  Fraser  river. 
In  1827,  he  built  the  original  Fort  Langley  on  the  Fraser  river,  and  he  re- 
mained in  command  there  until  1828.  In  1829,  he  ascended  the  Columbia 
with  Governor  Simpson  (see  the  latter's  Narrative  of  a  Journey  round  the 
World,  London,  1847,  vol.  i.).  He  undoubtedly  contributed  much  to  the 
early  record  of  the  geography  and  ethnology  of  the  Spokane,  Flathead, 
and  Kootenay  districts.     [J.  B.  T.  and  T.  C.  E.] 

*  Thompson's  note-books  show  that  no  building  had  been  done  here 
earlier. 

*  Jacques  Raphael  Finlay,  a  half-breed  who  seems  to  have  already 
established  trade  relations  with  the  Flatheads  on  what  is  now  Jocko  Creek, 
in  Missoula  county,  Montana,  to  the  east  of  Saleesh  House.     [T.  C.  E.] 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  417 

work  at  the  House,  the  same  day,  three  Saleesh  young  Men 
came  to  inform  us,  that  the  great  Camp  of  the  Saleesh 
Indians,  with  their  AUies,  were  returned  from  hunting  the 
Bison,  and  were  two  days  march  from  us,  had  plenty  of  pro- 
visions, and  had  seen  no  enemies.  So  far  this  was  good 
news,  but  it  did  not  reheve  us  from  want  until  the  24*'' 
when  eight  Saleesh  Men  came,  from  whom  I  traded  three 
packs  of  Furrs  (a  pack  is  90  lbs  weight),  and  thirteen  hundred 
pounds  of  dried  meat ;  they  were  from  the  great  Camp, 
which,  they  said,  was  moving  slowly  towards  us ;  hitherto  we 
had  been  very  unsuccessful  in  hunting  the  Antelope,  altho' 
there  were  many  about  us.  An  Indian  remarked  to  me, 
"  You  have  now  got  provisions  for  your  hungry  men  for 
several  days,  now  we  shall  kill  the  Antelope  and  there  will  be 
want  no  more  this  winter,"  which  became  true.  Amongst 
Hunters  who  depend  wholly  on  the  chase,  there  sometimes 
comes  a  strange  turn  of  mind ;  they  are  successful  and 
everything  goes  well ;  a  change  comes,  they  either  miss,  or 
wound  the  Deer,  without  getting  it ;  they  become  excited, 
and  no  better  success  attends  them,  despondency  takes  place, 
the  Manito  of  the  Deer  will  not  allow  him  to  kill  them; 
the  cure  for  this  is  a  couple  of  days  rest ;  which  strengthens 
his  mind  and  body.  It  is  something  Hke  the  axiom  of  the 
civilised  world,  that  Poverty  begets  Poverty. 

November  30**'.  We  had  not  finished  building  our  Houses : 
this  month  has  been  very  mild  weather,  two  thirds  of  it  with 
a  light  drizzling  rain  with  a  chance  shower  of  Snow,  the 
Leaves  of  the  Trees  are  all  fallen,  and  the  River  clear  of  ice. 
December  3"*^.  At  length  I  was  lodged  in  my  House  and  put 
up  my  Thermometer  ;  the  mean  cold  of  the  day  at  7-5-  am, 
2  PM  and  9  PM  +22.  December  4'^  +23.  Dec'  6'^  +30 
Dec'  8  +19.  Ice  now  drifting  in  the  River,  and  much  ice. 
along  shore.  Dec'  11*''  +26,  the  River  clear  of  ice.  Mild 
weather  returned,  Dec'  17*^  Mean  +37.  Dec'  19'*'.  Ther- 
mometer rose  to   +43.     Dec"^  24'^  mean  temperature   +41. 

2  D 


418      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Dec'  31"^  hitherto  this  month  has  been  mild  weather,  with 
much  Hght  drizzhng  rain  ;  how  different  from  the  east  side 
of  the  Mountains,  where  the  largest  Rivers  and  the  Lakes 
have  now  thick  ice  on  them  :  it  may  be  enquired  what  can 
be  the  cause  of  this  great  difference  of  climate  on  the  same 
parallel  of  Latitude,  it  appears  equally  inexplicable  as  the 
great  difference  of  heat  on  the  opposite  sides  of  a  Continent. 
The  mean  of  the  Thermometer  for  the  month  of  December 
from  7i  am  to  9  pm  +  27,  the  lowest  point  +13  and  the 
highest  +44. 

1 810  January.  This  month  passed  without  anything 
worth  notice,  although  at  times  the  nights  and  mornings 
were  cold,  yet  the  ducks  kept  about,  the  River  had  drift  ice, 
but  not  to  prevent  a  canoe  crossing  :  We  made  a  Glacier 
of  shore  ice,  and  placed  1260  lbs  of  Antelope  Meat  in  it. 
The  Thermometer,  the  lowest  point  was  -  4,  the  highest 
+  39,  the  mean  heat  of  the  month  +23. 

February.  By  weighing  we  found  the  average  weight  of 
the  meat  of  an  Antelope  to  be  fifty  nine  pounds  when  fleshy, 
but  when  fat  to  be  sixty  five  pounds.  By  observations  I 
found  the  Latitude  of  this,  the  Saleesh  House, ^  to  be 
47°.  34'.  35"  north,  and  it's  Longitude  115°.  22'.  51"  West 
of  Greenwich.  The  range  of  the  Thermometer  for  the  first 
twenty  two  days,  was,  the  lowest  point  -  il,  the  highest  +48, 
the  mean  temperature  +31,  from  this  date  no  further  atten- 
tion could  be  paid  to  the  Thermometer,  from  my  being  absent 
on  various  duties,  the  greater  part  of  the  Month  was  spent 
in  looking  for  Birch  Rind  to  make  two  Canoes,  for  the  trans- 
port of  the  Furrs,  Provisions  &c.  At  the  latter  end  of  this 
month  although  myself,  several  others  with  six  Iroquois 
Indians   (who  had  come  this  far   to  trap  Beaver)    assisted  in 

1  The  site  of  Saleesh  House  is  well  known  through  Indian  tradition  as 
well  as  by  scientific  observations.  It  is  near  the  town  of  Thompson, 
in  Sanders  county,  Montana,  about  one  mile  south-west  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railway  siding  of  Woodlin.     [T.  C.  E.] 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  419 

looking  for  Birch  Rind  fit  for  large  Canoes,  we  found  none ; 
it  is  a  curious  fact  that  climate  has  a  great  influence  on  the 
thickness  of  the  Rind  of  the  Birch  Tree.  In  the  mild  winters 
of  this  country  the  Rind  is  thin,  and  we  had  to  go  to  the 
tops  of  the  Hills  in  rocky  situations  to  look  for  it. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24*''  the  Indians  informed  me, 
that  the  Peeagans  had  attacked  a  hunting  party,  killed  M" 
Courter  ^  (a  trader  and  Hunter  from  the  U  States)  and  one 
Indian,  and  wounded  several  others.  My  Hunter  hearing 
that  two  of  his  brethren  were  wounded,  requested  to  go,  and 
see  them,  which  I  readily  granted,  my  Guide  deserted  and 
went  to  a  distant  camp  for  safety  ;  but  I  soon  procured 
another  :  On  the  26'^  in  the  afternoon  [we]  came  to  twenty 
one  Tents  of  Saleesh  Indians,  who  received  us  with  their 
usual  kindness  ;  they  seemed  to  think  that  the  imprudence 
of  M'  Courter,  in  going  on  the  War  Grounds,  with  a  small 
party  to  hunt  the  Bison  and  set  traps  for  the  Beaver,  which 
were  numerous,  was  the  cause  of  his  death  ;  and  the  accidents 
to  the  Indians ;  during  my  time  the  Traders  and  Hunters 
from  the  United  States  were  most  unfortunate,  there  seemed 
to  be  an  infatuation  over  them,  that  the  Natives  of  the 
Plains  were  all  skulkers  in  the  woods,  and  never  dared  shew 
themselves  on  open  ground,  and  they  suffered  accordingly 
being  frequently  attacked  in  open  ground  and  killed  by  the 
Peeagans  until  none  remained.  From  these  Indians  I  traded 
about  thirty  pounds  of  dried  meat,  and  twenty  eight  split 
and  dried  Tongues  of  the  Bison.  Our  Horses  being  very 
tired  I  staid  with  them  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  enquired  for 

^  The  nearest  approach  to  this  name  among  American  trappers  on 
the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri  river  at  that  time  is  that  of  John  Colter, 
a  member  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition,  whose  remarkable  ex- 
periences are  related  in  Chittenden,  History  of  the  American  Fur  Trade, 
ch.  X.  Colter,  however,  was  not  actually  killed  by  the  Blackfeet.  For 
the  story  of  several  attacks  by  the  Blackfeet  during  the  winter  and  spring 
of  1 810  at  the  Three  Forks  of  the  Missouri,  see  Chittenden,  op.  cit.,  ch.  vi., 
and  Coues,  New  Light,  p.  674,  note.     [T.  C.  E.] 


420     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Birch  Rind,  they  say,  there  is  plenty  of  Birch  Wood  in  the 
Brooks  which  are  in  the  Hills.  And  the  month  ended  without 
any  success  in  Birch  Rind  for  a  Canoe. 

March  V\  At  a  camp  of  Kootanaes,  and  traded  a  good 
Horse  for  Tobacco  and  Ammunition  ;  on  the  lo""  while  at 
the  Saleesh  Camp,^  an  alarm  came  of  the  tracks  of  Peeagans 
being  seen  near  the  Camp,  everything  was  now  suspended, 
scouts  went  off  and  came  back  reporting  having  seen  a  body 
of  Cavalry  about  three  miles  from  us.  About  one  hundred 
Men  now  mounted  their  Horses  proud  of  their  Guns  and 
iron  headed  Arrows  to  battle  with  the  Enemy  ;  they  soon 
returned,  having  found  these  Cavalry  to  be  the  Kootanaes 
under  their  old  Chief  who  had  quitted  hunting  the  Bison, 
and  were  returning  to  their  own  country  ;  but  [it]  gave  me, 
as  well  as  the  old  Men,  great  pleasure  in  seeing  the  alacrity 
with  which  they  went  to  seek  the  enemy,  when  before,  their 
whole  thoughts  and  exertions  were  to  get  away  from,  and  not 
to  meet,  their  enemies.  I  now  in  a  small  Canoe  with  two 
Kullyspell  Indians  set  off  for  the  House,  and  on  the  15''' 
arrived,  almost  constant  bad  weather.  Rain  and  showers  of 
Snow.  The  next  day  collected  the  Horses,  and  on  the  17'^ 
set  off  for  the  Saleesh  Camp  to  bring  the  Furrs  and  Pro- 
visions to  the  House.  On  the  19'''  at  Noon  arrived  at  the 
Saleesh  Camp,  Mons"  Bellaire  whom  I  had  left  in  charge  had 
traded  544  lbs  of  dried  meat  of  the  Bison,  much  wanted  for 
the  voyage  in  the  summer  ; 

March  20*^.  My  men,  whom  I  had  left  to  look  for 
Birch  Rind  for  a  Canoe,  at  length  found  enough  for  one 
large  Canoe  and  have  now  nearly  made  it,  but  the  bad  weather 
prevents  the  inside  work.  Tied  up  about  1650  lbs  of  Furrs, 
and  about  1300  lbs  of  dried  provisions  to  be  taken  to  the 
House  by  the  Canoe  and  by  Horses. 

March  24*''.     Numerous  flocks  of    Geese    have  passed  to 

^  See  Itinerary  on  p.  xci. 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  421 

the  northward  as  well  as  Ducks,  but  the  Swans  remain  here  ; 
for  how  long  we  cannot  say.  Most  of  these  Geese  from  my 
knowledge  of  the  north  eastern  country  have  to  proceed  to 
between  the  parallels  of  58  to  62  degrees  north  and  thence 
to  five  hundred  miles  eastward  of  the  Mountains,  there  to 
lay  their  eggs  and  rear  up  their  young,  and  late  in  Autumn 
with  their  young  return  to  these  mild  climates  to  pass  the 
winter ;  In  a  straight  line  the  flight  of  the  Geese  from  New 
Orleans  is  2700  miles,  who  thus  unerringly  guides  the  wild 
Geese  and  Ducks,  over  this  great  space,  crossing  the  Rocky 
Mountains  at  both  seasons,  the  Indian  readily  answers, 
the  Manito  to  whom  the  Great  Spirit  has  given  the  care  of 
the  Geese  and  Ducks  &c,  the  civihzed  world  has  it's  Manito 
called  Instinct  an  undefinable  property  of  Mind.  The 
Geese  and  Ducks  which  remain  here  are  all  now  paired, 
repairing,  or  making  their  Nests  for  laying  their  Eggs.  The 
Swans  the  same,  but  this  is  a  most  cautious  bird,  they  work 
at  the  nest  only  in  the  night.  I  never  saw  them  at  it  in 
the  day,  and  they  are  to  be  found  at  some  small  distance 
from  the  nest ;  even  when  the  female  is  sitting  on  the  eggs, 
the  male  is  not  near  her  until  his  turn  comes  to  take  charge 
of  the  eggs,  which  are  from  three  to  seven,  and  so  well 
hidden,  they  are  not  found  so  often  as  the  Eggs  of  other 
Fowl. 

On  the  25*^  we  arrived  at  the  House  ;  the  Indians  are 
suffering  from  Colds,  from  the  almost  constant  drizzling 
Rains,  and  some  of  us  are  not  much  better,  but  we  now 
plainly,  as  well  as  the  Indians,  see  in  this  climate,  the  great 
advantage  of  wooUen  over  leather  clothing,  the  latter  when 
wet  sticks  to  the  skin,  and  is  very  uncomfortable,  requires 
time  to  dry,  with  caution  to  keep  it  to  it's  shape  of  clothing. 
On  the  contrary  the  woollen,  even  when  wet,  is  not  un- 
comfortable, is  readily  dried  and  keeps  it's  shape,  which 
quality  they  admire.  The  Indians  now  fully  appreciate  the 
use  of  woollen  clothing,  and  every  one  is  glad  by  means  of 


422      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

trade,  to  change  his  leather  dress,  for  one  of  the  woollen 
manufacture  of  England. 

March  30'^.  6  am  +35,  2  pm  +43,  9  pm  +32.  I 
have  now  collected  all  the  Furrs  and  Provisions  safe  in  the 
House.  On  the  31^'  the  Thermometer  rose  to  +46.  Thus 
ended  this  Month  of  much  travelling  hy  land  and  by  water  ; 
the  impression  of  my  mind  is,  from  the  formation  of  the 
country  and  it's  climate,  it's  extensive  Meadows  and  fine 
Forests,  watered  by  countless  Brooks  and  Rills  of  pure 
water,  that  it  will  become  the  abode  of  civilized  Man,  whether 
Natives  or  other  people  ;  part  of  it  will  bear  rich  crops  of 
grain,  the  greater  part  will  be  pastoral,  as  it  is  admirably 
adapted  to  the  rearing  of  Cattle  and  Sheep.  (These  fine 
Countries  by  the  capitulation  of  the  Blockhead  called  Lord 
Ashburton  now  belong  to  the  United  States.)  ^ 

The  Saleesh  Indians  were  a  fine  race  of  moral  Indians, 
the  finest  I  had  seen,  and  set  a  high  value  on  the  chastity 
of  their  women  ;  adultery  is  death  to  both  parties  ;  (Note. 
in  the  course  of  the  winter  we  became  well  acquainted  with 
these  Indians,  a  camp  of  them  being  always  near  the  Post, 
partly  for  hunting  the  Antelope,  which  was  here  of  a  large 
species,  and  partly  leaving  the  aged  Men  and  Women  in 
security  when  they  made  hunting  excursions.)  The  tribe 
was  under  the  influence  of  two  Chiefs,  the  principal  we 
named  Cartier,  from  his  resemblance  to  a  Canadian  of  that 
name ;  the  other  the  Orator  :  both  very  friendly  to  us, 
and  of  mild  manners  ;  and  frequently  camped  near  the 
Fort  ;  or  Post,  sometime  in  February  ;  they  both  as  usual, 
with  a  few  Indians  in  the  evening  entered  the  Hall  to  smoke, 
but   now   with  grave   faces.     I   supposed   they  had  heard  of 

>  Lord  Ashburton  had  no  part  in  negotiating  the  Treaty  of  1846, 
which  gave  these  territories  to  the  United  States.  Thompson  wrote  to 
the  British  Government  during  the  negotiations  a  number  of  letters  de- 
scribing his  early  explorations  of  this  region  south  of  the  49th  parallel 
and  its  great  value.  These  letters  are  now  on  file  in  the  Public  Record 
Office  in  London. 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  423 

some  chance  of  war  :  they  soon  broke  silence,  and  Cartier 
mildly  said,  You  know  our  law  is,  that  a  man  that  seduces  a 
woman  must  be  killed  ;  I  said  I  have  no  objection  to  your 
law,  to  what  purpose  do  you  tell  me  this ;  the  Orator  then 
spoke,  my  daughter  with  her  mother  has  always  sat  quietly 
in  my  Tent,  until  these  few  days  past,  when  one  of  your  men 
has  been  every  day,  while  we  are  hunting,  to  my  tent  with 
beads  and  rings  to  seduce  my  daughter.  Looking  round  on 
my  men,  he  said  he  is  not  here,  (on  their  entering  my  servant 
had  gone  into  my  room,  I  knew  it  must  be  him  ;  the  men 
and  myself  were  every  day  too  much  fatigued  to  think  of 
women.)  But  wherever  he  is,  we  hope  you  will  give  him 
to  us  that  he  may  die  by  our  law.  I  told  them  I  had  no  in- 
clination to  screen  the  Man,  but  as  they  were  much  in  want 
of  guns  and  ammunition  for  hunting  and  to  protect  them- 
selves from  their  enemies,  if  they  wished  me  to  return  with 
those  articles,  and  various  others,  they  must  give  me  a  Man  to 
take  his  place,  otherwise  I  could  not  return  ;  they  looked  at 
each  other,  and  said  we  cannot  find  a  man  capable,  besides  his 
going  among  strange  people  where  he  may  be  killed  ;  very 
well,  then  if  you  kill  my  man  I  cannot  return  to  you,  but 
shall  stay  with  the  Peeagans,  your  enemies ;  then  what  is 
to  be  done,  exclaimed  the  Orator.  I  repHed,  let  him  Hve 
this  time,  and  as  you  are  noted  for  being  a  good  gelder  of 
Horses  ;  if  this  Man  ever  again  enters  your  Tent,  geld  him, 
but  let  him  live ;  at  this  proposition  they  laughed,  and 
said,  well  let  him  live,  but  so  sure  as  he  comes  to  seduce  our 
women,  we  shall  geld  him  ;  after  smoking,  they  retired  in 
good  humour.  But  my  men,  all  young  and  in  the  prime  of 
life,  did  not  at  all  rehsh  the  punishment. 

The  Saleesh  Indians  during  the  winter  had  traded  up- 
wards of  twenty  guns  from  me,  with  several  hundreds  of 
iron  arrow  heads,  with  which  they  thought  themselves  a 
fair  match  for  the  Peeagan  Indians  in  battle  on  the  Plains. 
In  the  month  of  July  when  the  Bison  Bulls  are  getting  fat, 


424      DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

they  formed  a  camp  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men 
to  hunt  and  make  dried  Provisions  as  I  had  requested  them  ; 
accompanied  by  M'  Finan  M'^Donald,  Michel  Bourdeaux 
and  Bapteste  Buche  with  ammunition  tobacco  &c  to 
encourage  them  :  they  crossed  the  Mountains  by  a  wide 
defile  of  easy  passage,  eastward  of  the  Saleesh  Lake,  here 
they  are  watched  by  the  Peeagans  to  prevent  them  hunting 
the  Bison,  and  driven  back,  and  could  only  hunt  as  it  were 
by  stealth  ;  the  case  was  now  different,  and  they  were  deter- 
mined to  hunt  boldly  and  try  a  battle  with  them  :  they 
were  entering  on  the  grounds,  when  the  scouts,  as  usual, 
early  each  morning  sent  to  view  the  country  came  riding 
at  full  speed,  calling  out,  "  the  Enemy  is  on  us  ;  "  instantly 
down  went  the  Tents,  and  tent  poles,  which,  with  the 
Baggage  formed  a  rude  rampart ;  this  was  barely  done, 
when  a  steady  charge  of  cavalry  came  on  them,  but  the 
Horses  did  not  break  through  the  rampart,  part  of  pointed 
poles,  each  party  discharged  their  arrows,  which  only  wounded 
a  few,  none  fell  ;  a  second,  and  third  charge,  was  made  ; 
but  in  a  weak  manner ;  the  battle  was  now  to  be  of 
infantry.  The  Saleesh,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Men, 
took  possession  of  a  slightly  rising  ground  about  half  a  mile 
in  front  of  their  Tents,  the  Peagans,  about  one  hundred 
and  Seventy  men  drew  up  and  formed  a  rude  line  about 
four  hundred  yards  from  them  ;  the  Saleesh  and  the  white 
Men  lay  quiet  on  the  defensive  ;  the  Peeagans,  from  time 
to  time  throughout  the  day,  sent  parties  of  about  forty  men 
forward,  to  dare  them  to  battle  ;  these  would  often  approach 
to  within  sixty  to  eighty  yards,  insulting  them  as  old  women, 
and  dancing  in  a  frantic  manner,  now  springing  from  the 
ground  as  high  as  they  could,  then  close  to  the  ground,  now 
to  the  right,  and  to  the  left ;  in  all  postures ;  their  war 
coats  of  leather  hanging  loose  before  them ;  their  guns, 
or  bows  and  arrows,  or  a  lance  in  their  hands  ;  the  two 
former    they    sometimes    discharged    at    their    enemies    with 


TRADE  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  INDIANS  425 

little  effect  :  Buche,  who  was  a  good  shot,  said  they  were 
harder  to  hit  than  a  goose  on  the  wing.  When  these  were 
tired  they  returned,  and  a  fresh  party  came  forward  in  like 
manner,  and  thus  throughout  the  day,  the  three  men  had 
several  shots  discharged  at  them,  but  their  violent  gestures 
prevented  a  steady  aim  in  return  ;  the  three  men  were  all 
good  shots,  and  as  I  have  noticed  the  Indians  allow  no 
neutrals,  they  had  to  fight  in  their  own  defence.  M"^  Finan 
M'^Donald  fired  forty  five  shots,  killed  two  men  and  wounded 
one,  the  other  two  men  each  fired  forty  three  balls,  and 
each  wounded  one  man ;  such  were  their  wild  activity, 
they  were  an  uncertain  mark  to  fire  at ;  the  evening  ended 
the  battle  ;  on  the  part  of  the  Peeagans,  seven  killed  and 
thirteen  wounded  ;  on  the  part  of  the  Saleesh,  five  killed 
and  nine  wounded  ;  each  party  took  care  of  their  dead  and 
wounded ;  no  scalps  were  taken,  which  the  Peeagans  ac- 
counted a  disgrace  to  them  ;  the  Saleesh  set  no  pride  on 
taking  scalps ;  This  was  the  first  time  the  Peeagans  were 
in  a  manner  defeated,  and  they  determined  to  wreck  their 
vengeance  on  the  white  men  who  crossed  the  mountains 
to  the  west  side  ;  and  furnished  arms  and  ammunition  to 
their  Enemies. 


CHAPTER    V 

JOURNEY  FROM   SALEESH   HOUSE  TO 
RAINY   LAKE   HOUSE 

Explore  the  Spokane  River — Return  to  M^'Gillivray^s  River 
— Canoes  start — David  Thompson^  James  M'^Millan,  and 
one  man  start  with  sixteen  horses — Arrive  at  carrying 
place  of  Saleesh  River — Arrive  at  M^Gillivray^s  carry- 
ing place — Tracks  of  Peeagans — Cache  at  carrying  place 
of  the  Mou7itains  broken  into  by  a  Wolverene — Start 
out  to  meet  fresh  horses  from  the  East  of  the  Mountains — 
Embark  on  the  Saskatchezua7i — Arrive  at  the  ruins  of 
Fort  Augustus — Proceed  on  journey  of  descending  the 
Saskatchewan — Cumberland  House — Pemican — Missasscut 
berry — Cedar  Lake — Saskatchewan  River — Arrive  at 
Rainy  Lake  House — Woman  conjuress. 

y4PRIL.  Various  duties  for  the  Voyage  before  us,  got 
/  %  the  Canoe  ready  and  sent  off  to  the  Kullyspel  Lake 
^  m.  with  Furrs  and  Provisions,  the  weather  variable,  but 
very  mild.  April  9'^.  5  am  +38  2  pm  +52  9  pm  +42 
small  Rain.  April  18'^.  5  am  +38  Clear  2  pm  +71  hazy. 
9  PM  +38  calm.  Getting  all  ready  to  set  off  the  morrow 
19"".  We  left  the  House  to  proceed  on  our  Voyage  to  ex- 
change the  Furrs  for  Goods  &c.  The  25'^  part  of  this  day 
was  passed  in  observations  for  Latitude  Longitude  and  Varia- 
tion of  the  Compass,  of  no  use  to  the  general  reader.  The 
same  on   the  26'^,  when  we  had  the  good  fortune  to  kill  one 

Crane,  thirteen  Geese  and  one  Duck.     April  27"'  proceeded 

426 


JOURNEY   TO   RAINY   LAKE    HOUSE     427 

on  discovery  down  the  Spokane  River  ^  till  2.25  pm,  when 
finding  the  River  bounded  by  high  craigs,  of  contracted 
space,  with  strong  rushes  of  current,  small  Falls,  and  Whirl- 
pools, we  put  ashore  to  examine  the  country  below  us.  Of 
late  a  great  change  had  taken  place,  the  remains  of  the  heavy- 
snows  of  Winter,  which  is  very  deep  in  these  countries,  is 
everywhere  on  the  ground  giving  everything  a  wintry  appear- 
ance ;  we  landed  on  the  left  side  which  appeared  the  best, 
went  up  a  high  steep  bank  of  rocks  and  earth,  and  then 
through  small,  close  woods,  for  one  mile  in  deep  snow,  which 
sometimes  bore  us  up,  but  often  [we]  sunk  in  it  to  our  middle  ; 
we  were  obliged  to  haul  ourselves  out  by  the  branches  of  the 
Trees.  Having  crossed  the  Carrying  Place,"  we  had  a  steep 
bank  to  go  down  ;  from  the  top  I  surveyed  the  country 
before  me,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Indian  ;  a  bold  range 
of  high  Mountains  covered  with  snow  bounded  the  left  side 
of  the  River,  and  also  formed  it's  banks  in  rude  craigs  :  the 
right  side  was  of  high  steep  Hills  of  rock,  and  ranged  away 
to  a  great  distance.  My  Guide  who  has  been  here  pointed 
out  the  country  ;  about  three  miles  below  us  was  a  Fall 
that  fell  over  steep  Rocks,  the  height  of  a  large  tree  (say 
80  to  100  feet)  but  could  not  be  approached  in  this  season, 
the  Snow  was  too  deep  ;  in  the  Summer  they  left  the  Canoes 
a  short  distance  above  the  Fall,  and  by  hands  and  feet  got 
along  the  steep  Rocks  to  the  Fall,  beyond  which  no  Indian 
had  ever  gone,  except  a  very  few  to  gather  red  ochre,  which 
is  of  a  very  fine  quality,  and  in  great  plenty  among  the  Moun- 

1  This  is  a  mistake  for  the  Pend  d'Oreille  river.  [T.  C.  E.] 
=*  Thompson  has  descended  the  Pend  d'Oreille  (not  the  Spokane) 
river  a  little  farther  than  before,  and  is  on  the  edge  of  Box  Cafion  above 
Metaline  (formerly  Pend  d'Oreille)  Falls.  He  is  actually  within  thirty 
miles  of  the  Columbia  river,  but  in  a  very  rough  country  which  even  the 
Indians  avoided  in  their  travel.  Later,  in  1825,  employees  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  under  the  direction  of  Governor  Simpson,  explored  this 
river  from  where  it  empties  into  the  Columbia,  but  soon  abandoned  any 
attempt  to  navigate  it.     [T.  C.  E.] 


428      DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

tains.  The  road  he  described  as  highly  dangerous,  passable 
only  to  light,  active,  men,  and  they  [are]  obliged  frequently 
to  go  on  hands  and  knees,  and  thus  get  up  the  high  steep 
rocks ;  which  he  assured  us  continued  for  two  and  a  half 
days  march  beyond  the  great  Fall ;  when  they  came  on  the 
Columbia  River.  The  Spokane  River  for  this  distance  is  a 
terrible  Cataract,  bounded  on  each  side  by  high  Craigs,  and 
unnavigable  ;  those  who  voyage  this  way  make  a  long  carrying 
place  ^  to  a  small  River  which  runs  nearly  paralel  to  the 
Columbia,  and  falls  into  it  below  the  Cataract ;  this  River 
he  said  to  be  too  shoal  for  us.  Although  so  near  the  Great 
Falls,  he  assured  us,  it  would  take  a  whole  day  to  arrive 
there,  including  the  Carrying  Place  we  were  on ;  this  I 
readily  believed,  as  the  Carrying  Place  alone  would  require 
four  hours  of  active  men.  This  range  of  rude,  high,  rocky 
Hills  gave  me  a  view  of  the  structure  of  the  country  which  I 
had  not  [had]  before.  I  never  to  myself,  could  account  for  the 
small  quantity  of  Snow  at  the  west  foot  of  the  Mountains  along 
the  whole  of  the  Kootanae  and  Saleesh  countries  for  the  length 
of  about  400  miles  ;  these  high  Hills  intercepted  all  the 
heavy  vapours  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  great  valley 
between  them  and  the  west  foot  of  the  mountains  have  only 
the  light  vapours  which  pass  above  these  Hills ;  the  breadth 
of  this  fine  valley  is  irregular,  and  may  be  estimated  at  one 
hundred  miles ;  the  depth  of  snow  on  these  Hills  in  Winter 
must  be  very  great  ;  when  we  found  so  much,  so  late  in  the 
season,  after  such  heavy  thaws.  I  now  perceived  the  Columbia 
River  was  in  a  deep  valley  at  the  north  end  of  these  rude 
Hills,  and  it's  west  side  the  high  rolling  lands  of  Amount  Nelson, 
round   which    it   runs.      Attentively   surveying    the   country, 

^  The  customary  Indian  trail  to  and  from  the  Cohimbia  left  the  Pend 
d'Oreille  at  the  Calispell  river,  crossed  the  mountains  on  the  westward 
to  the  valley  of  the  Colville  river,  and  followed  that  river  (which  is  not 
navigable  for  canoes)  to  the  Columbia  just  below  the  Kettle  Falls,  which 
Thompson  here  refers  to  as  the  "  Cataract,"  or  "  Great  Falls."  The  name 
Ilthkoyape  was  not  yet  used  by  him.     [T.  C.  E.] 


BOX   CANON,    PEND    D'OREILLE    RIVER,   WASHINGTON 

Thompson  descended  the  river  to  this  point. 

{Photograph :  Frank  Palmer) 


JOURNEY   TO   RAINY   LAKE    HOUSE     429 

and  considering  all  the  information  I  had  collected  from 
various  Indians,  I  concluded  that  we  must  abandon  all 
thoughts  of  a  passage  this  way,  and  return  by  our  old  Road, 
till  some  future  opportunity  shall  point  out  a  more  eligible 
road,  which  I  much  doubt  ;  Near  5  pm  began  our  return 
and  put  up  at  ji  pm.  And  I  observed  for  Latitude.  Killed 
one  Swan,  one  Crane,  two  Geese  ^  and  found  sixteen  goose 
eggs  in  different  nests.  The  Crane  was  fat.  In  many  places 
there  is  much  snow  along  the  beach,  and  it  is  deep  in  the 
woods.     Such  is  the  nature  of  this  region. 

May  I*'.  Came  to  my  Men  who  are  finishing  a  Canoe, 
and  told  them  to  look  for  more  Birch  Rind  and  white  Cedar 
to  make  another  Canoe ;  we  continued  our  journey  to  ^J-  pm, 
the  River  always  from  three  to  five  hundred  yards  wide. 
Our  hunt  to-day  was  one  Antelope,  three  Geese  and  one 
Duck.  The  great  depth  of  snow  on  this  end  of  the  Road, 
and  the  weak  state  of  the  Horses,  put  me  in  mind  of  a  Rivulet 
which  we  had  to  cross  on  the  Carrying  Place  to  McGiUivray's 
River ;  and  by  proceeding  up  it,  shorten  the  distance  for  the 
Horses,  and  avoid  the  worst  part  of  the  deep  snow  ;  we  found 
the  sortie  of  the  Rivulet,^  and  on  the  3''^  by  proceeding  up 
it  we  came  to  the  Road  ;  On  the  16'*"  with  much  suffering 
and  hard  Labor  we  got  all  the  Furrs  to  McGiUivray's  River, 
where  our  Canoes  of  last  year  were  laid  up  and  which  we  had 
to  repair,  for  which  purpose  all  we  could  procure  was  nine 
feet  of  second  rate  Birch  Rind ;  May  ly'*".  We  got  the 
Canoes  repaired,  and  in  the  afternoon  with  forty  six  packs 
of  Furrs,  and  eight  bags  of  Pemmecan  they  went  off  for  the 
Rocky  Mountain  defiles.  M'  Jas  M'^Millan,  one  Man  and 
myself  with  sixteen  Horses  went  by  land.  On  the  20'**  the 
Canoes    arrived   with   half    Cargo,  they   crossed   us    and   the 

1  Branta  canadensis  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  This  "  rivulet  "  is  now  known  as  Pack  river.  Thompson's  note- 
books show  that  he  returned  to  KuUj^spell  House,  and  from  there  started 
with  McMillan  for  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  way  of  the  Kootenaj-  river. 

[T.  C.  E.] 


430      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Horses  to  the  Saleesh  Carrying  Place  ^  to  the  Saleesh  River  ; 
and  then  returned  for  the  rest  of  their  cargoe  of  Furrs,  with 
which  they  arrived.  On  the  9'^  June,  thank  God,  we  arrived 
safe  at  M'^GiUivray's  Carrying  Place,  which  leads  to  the 
scource  of  the  Columbia  River  ;  and  crossed  all  the  Horses, 
they  are  in  poor  condition,  the  grass  [being]  scant,  and  bruised 
in  the  many  rapids  we  have  crossed  to  this  place  :  we  now 
go  direct  for  the  defiles  of  the  Rocky  A4ountains.  When  we 
landed  we  saw  the  fresh  tracks  of  Peeagan  Scouts,  they  had 
this  morning  broken  the  branch  of  an  Aspin  Tree,  and  peeled 
the  bark,  on  examining  the  tracks,  [we]  found  they  had  gone 
up  the  River  to  recross  the  Mountains.  Had  we  been  a  few 
hours  sooner,  we  should  have  had  to  fight  a  battle,  which, 
thank  God,  is  thus  avoided. 

June  16'''.  Early  came  to  the  Carrying  Place  of  the 
Mountains ;  Our  Hoard  strongly  built  of  Pine  Logs,  and 
covered  with  Pine  Bark,  we  found  cut  through  by  a 
Wolverene,'^  whom  we  killed  ;  he  had  eaten  twenty  five  pounds 
of  Pemmican,  half  of  a  dressed  leather  Skin,  three  pairs  of 
Shoes,  and  cut  to  pieces  seven  large  Saddles  ;  and  broken  the 
Pine  Bark  covering  to  pieces  :  this  animal  is  everywhere  a 
devil  for  mischief.  Left  M""  M'^Millan  and  four  Men  in 
charge  of  the  Furrs,  and  to  wait  fresh  Horses  from  the  east 
end  of  the  Defile ;  We  were  in  hopes  of  seeing  Men  and 
Horses  here  to  cross  the  Furrs,  but  suppose  the  Snow  is  too 
deep  :  but  necessity  compels  me  to  proceed  to  the  east  end 
of  the  Defile  for  fresh  Horses ;  with  seven  Men  and  nine 
Horses,  seven  out  of  the  sixteen  having  knocked  up  and  been 

^  Thompson  and  McMillan  have  followed  the  land  trail,  and  the  canoes 
the  river,  up  the  Kootenay  past  Kootenay  Falls.  The  party  are  now  near 
Jennings,  Montana,  whence  they  proceed  up  the  river  in  the  same  manner 
to  the  portage  at  Canal  Flat,  and  from  there  down  the  Columbia  to  Blae- 
berry Creek.  Thompson  then  hurries  on  across  the  mountains,  and 
reaches  White  Mud  House,  or  Terre  Blanche,  on  the  Saskatchewan,  on 
June  23  ;  McMillan  with  the  furs  follows  more  slowly,  and  arrives  on 
Julys-     [T.C.  E.] 

2  Gulo  luscus  (Linn.).      [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEY  TO   RAINY   LAKE    HOUSE     431 

left ;  on  the  iS""  we  crossed  the  Height  of  Land,  and  our 
jaded  Horses  got  free  of  the  Snow  ;  Early  on  the  19'''  came 
to  the  Men  in  charge  of  the  Horses,  they  were  waiting  for 
the  Snow  to  almost  disappear.  Giving  them  all  the  dried 
Provisions  I  had,  sent  them  off  with  all  the  fresh  Horses  to 
M'  M'^Millan,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  Furrs.  We  went  to 
where  the  large  canoe  was  laid  up,  found  it  very  little  damaged, 
repaired  it,  and  with  three  Men,  [and]  Pembok  a  Chippe- 
way  Indian  ;  an  hour  after  Noon  we  embarked  on  the  rapid, 
sinuous,  stream  of  the  head  of  the  great  Saskatchewan  River ; 
and  put  up  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Kootanae  Plains ;  as  we 
are  now  in  the  land  of  the  Bison  we  hope  no  more  to  be  in 
want  of  Provisions.  Pembok  went  a  hunting  and  killed  a 
Bison  BuU  of  which  he  brought  us  about  twenty  pounds,  bull 
meat  is  not  regarded,  it  is  seldom  fat,  and  always  tough. 

June  20'^.  Early  we  gummed  the  Canoe,  made  a  Seat 
for  the  two  men,  Boisverd  steered  the  Canoe,  and  two  men 
paddled,  the  Indian  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  Canoe,  and  I 
took  the  Bow,  as  the  most  experienced  on  rapid  Rivers.  The 
melting  of  the  Snow  in  the  Mountains  had  increased  the 
current  to  a  torrent,  on  every  rock,  snag,  or  root  of  a  tree 
the  water  was  like  a  fall,  the  men  paddled  merely  sufficient 
to  give  the  Canoe  steerage  way ;  we  were  descending  with 
careless  gaiety,  when  within  four  inches  of  the  canoe,  a  large 
sawyer  of  18  inches  diameter  arose,  which  gave  us  a  fright 
that  put  an  end  to  our  cheerfulness,  for  a  blow  from  such  a 
tree  would  have  dashed  the  canoe  to  pieces.  A  Sawyer,  for 
want  of  a  greek  name  is  a  large  tree  torn  from  the  Banks  by 
the  current,  and  floated  down  to  some  place  too  shoal  to  allow 
the  Root  to  pass,  here  it  rests,  but  the  tree  itself  is  in  the 
current  below  it,  it's  buoyancy  makes  it  float,  but  being  fast 
the  current  buries  it,  to  a  certain  depth,  from  which  the 
elasticity  and  lightness  of  the  wood  causes  it  to  rise  like  the 
spring  of  a  Bow  :  again  it  is  buried,  and  again  rises,  and  thus 
continues  to  the  great  danger  of  everything  that  comes  in 


432     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

it's  way,  until  the  water  lowers,  and  becomes  too  shoal.  I 
once  saw  a  Bison  Bull  across  a  small  Sawyer,  it  had  come  up 
and  taken  him  under  the  Belly,  his  weight  kept  it  from  much 
play,  he  was  swiming  with  all  his  might  his  fore  legs  on  one 
side,  and  his  hind  legs  on  the  other,  and  the  Sawyer  dodging 
him  up  and  down  gave  us  a  hearty  laugh ;  had  it  been  a 
Deer,  we  might  have  relieved  him,  but  the  Bison  is  so  savage, 
that  he  is  never  pitied,  get  into  what  mischief  he  will.  Our 
hunt  to-day,  a  Bison  Bull,  one  Red  Deer,  and  wounded  a 
Mountain  Sheep,  we  camped  at  the  foot  of  the  high  Craigs 
of  Limestone,  to  be  free  of  an  attack  from  the  Peeagan 
Indians. 

On  the  evening  of  the  zz"^^  June,  arrived  at  Fort  Augustus,^ 

^  The  reference  here  is  to  "  old  Fort  Augustus,"  situated  on  the  North 
Saskatchewan  river  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  mouth  of  Sturgeon  river, 
in  Sect.  15,  Tp.  55,  R.  22,  west  of  the  Fourth  Meridian.  It  was  built  by 
Angus  Shaw  and  Duncan  McGillivray  in  1794,  or  perhaps  the  year  before, 
in  order  to  secure  the  trade  of  the  Blackfeet  and  Piegan  Indians.  In 
1795,  George  Sutherland  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  followed  the 
"  Canadians,"  and  built  a  trading  post  beside  them,  which  he  called 
"  Edmonton,"  probably  as  a  compliment  to  his  clerk,  John  Prudens,  who 
was  a  native  of  Edmonton,  near  London,  England.  These  two  forts 
formed  the  most  westerly  trading  establishments  on  the  Saskatchewan 
river  until  1799,  when  Rocky  Mountain  House  was  built  two  hundred 
miles  farther  up  the  stream  ;  and  they  remained  the  headquarters  of  the 
fur-trade  of  the  far  west  until  the  summer  of  1807,  when  they  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  Indians  and  abandoned.  Writing  in  his  note-books  on  Sep- 
tember 25,  1807,  Thompson  records  the  destruction  of  old  Fort  Augustus 
as  follows  :  "  About  2  or  3  months  ago  the  brother  of  Old  White  Swan,  a 
Blackfoot  chief,  had  with  his  band,  a  party  of  Blood  Indians,  and  a  few 
Fall  Indians,  pillaged  Fort  Augustus  and  left  the  men  without  even  cloth- 
ing on  their  backs,  but  whether  they  murdered  the  men  or  not  they  do  not 
know,  any  more  than  whether  they  pillaged  both  forts  or  only  one,  but 
that  they  were  possessed  of  many  guns,  much  ammunition  and  tobacco, 
with  various  other  articles,  and  finding  themselves  thus  rich,  they  were 
gone  to  war  on  the  Crow  Mountain  Indians." 

New  Fort  Augustus  was  built  by  James  Hughes  of  the  North-West 
Company,  and  Edmonton  by  a  trader  named  Rowand  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  in  1808,  at  the  foot  of  the  high  bank  within  the  present 
city  of  Edmonton.  It  was  probably  this  fort  at  which  Thompson  stopped 
on  June  27,  1808,  when  on  his  way  down  the  Saskatchewan,  and  which 
he  passed  on  his  way  west  on  September  23  of  the  same  year.     It  was 


JOURNEY  TO   RAINY  LAKE   HOUSE     433 

now  in  ruins ;  this  is  the  third  year  since  this  Fort  has  been 
deserted,  it  is  situated  on  a  high  dry  bank,  as  well  built  as 
possible  with  Logs  of  wood,  and  now  in  ruins  :  it  is  a  strange 
fact  that  of  all  pine  log  buildings  they  are  in  ruins  a  few 
months  after  they  cease  to  be  inhabited,  however  dry  the 
ground  and  the  climate. 

We  had  now  full  five  hundred  miles  to  descend  this  noble 
river  (Saskatchewan)  where  it  passes  through  the  great  Plains, 
with  woods  only  in  places,  the  very  country  of  the  Bison, 
the  Red  Deer  and  the  Antelopes.  As  we  descended  many 
herds  of  the  Bison  were  crossing  as  the  whim  took  them. 
They  swim  well,  though  slowly,  and  however  troublesome  the 
Flies,  they  never  like  the  Deer  shelter  themselves  under 
water,  but  roll  themselves  on  the  ground  to  get  rid  of  them  : 
It  is  remarked  that  all  land  Animals  when  killed  in  the  water 
do  float ;  and  all  aquatic,  as  the  Beaver,  Otter  and  Musk 
Rat,  do  sink  in  the  water  when  shot,  and  have  to  be  laid 
hold  of  as  soon  as  possible,  or  they  are  lost  :  At  this  season 
the  Bison  Bulls  are  fatter  than  the  Cows,  we  preferred  them, 
and  when  swiming  [they]  are  shot  in  the  head  close  under 
the  ear,  one  of  them  so  shot  to  our  surprise  sunk  like  a  stone 
and  we  had  to  kill  another  ;  thus  we  held  on  to  where  the 
Forests  close  on  the  River,  and  the  Bison  is  no  longer  seen, 
nothing  now  to  amuse  us,  but  myriads  of  Musketoes  and 
Horse  flies  to  vex  us,  and  allow  no  rest  night  nor  day. 

This  turbid  River  has  formed  immense  alluvials  of  about 
two  hundred  miles  in  width  to  the  Cedar  Lake,  through 
which  it  passes  in  several  Channels ;  this  very  rich  soil  is 
much  covered  with  Reeds  and  rushes,  but  where  the  lands 
have  gradually  risen  and  are  no  longer  overflowed,  young 
Forests  of  Ash,  and  other  Trees  cover  the  ground,  and  where 

certainly  here  that  he  stayed  from  June  24  to  July  27,  1809.  The  new 
fort  was  abandoned  in  the  spring  of  1810  by  both  companies  ;  but  for  how 
long  is  not  known.  It  was,  however,  occupied  in  1819,  and  has  been 
continuously  occupied  ever  since. 

2  £ 


434      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

this  has  taken  place  the  Moose  Deer  have  taken  possession. 
On  the  west  side  of  these  alluvials  is  Cumberland  Lake,  on 
the  east  bank  of  which  is  situated  Cumberland  House  in 
Lat'^'^  53°  .  56' .  45"  N  Longitude  102  .  13  West.  This  House 
was  the  first  inland  trading  post  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company- 
made,  remarkably  well  situated  for  the  trade  of  fine  Furrs  : 
it  serves  as  the  general  Depot  for  all  the  dried  Provisions  made 
of  the  meat  and  fat  of  the  Bison  under  the  name  of  Pemican, 
a  wholesome,  well  tasted  nutritious  food,  upon  which  all 
persons  engaged  in  the  Furr  Trade  mostly  depend  for  their 
subsistence  during  the  open  season  ;  it  is  made  of  the  lean 
and  fleshy  parts  of  the  Bison  dried,  smoked,  and  pounded 
fine ;  in  this  state  it  is  called  Beat  Meat  :  the  fat  of  the  Bison 
is  of  two  quahties,  called  hard  and  soft ;  the  former  is  from 
the  inside  of  the  animal,  which  when  melted  is  called  hard 
fat  (properly  grease)  the  latter  is  made  from  the  large  flakes 
of  fat  that  He  on  each  side  the  back  bone,  covering  the  ribs, 
and  which  is  readily  separated,  and  when  carefully  melted 
resembles  Butter  in  softness  and  sweetness.  Pimmecan  is 
made  up  in  bags  of  ninety  pounds  weight,  made  of  the  parch- 
ment hide  of  the  Bison  with  the  hair  on  ;  the  proportion  of 
the  Pemmecan  when  best  made  for  keeping  is  twenty  pounds 
of  soft  and  the  same  of  hard  fat,  slowly  melted  together,  and 
at  a  low  warmth  poured  on  fifty  pounds  of  Beat  Meat,  well 
mixed  together,  and  closely  packed  in  a  bag  of  about  thirty 
inches  in  length,  by  near  twenty  inches  in  breadth,  and 
about  four  in  thickness  which  makes  them  flat,  the  best  shape 
for  stowage  and  carriage.  On  the  great  Plains  there  is  a 
shrub  ^  bearing  a  very  sweet  berry  of  a  dark  blue  color,  much 
sought  after,  great  quantities  are  dried  by  the  Natives ;  in 
this  state,  these  berries  are  as  sweet  as  the  best  currants,  and 
as  much  as  possible  mixed  to  make  Pemmecan  ;  the  wood  of 
this  shrub,  or  willow  is  hard,  weighty  and  flexible,  but  not 
elastic,  and  wherever  it  can  be  procured  always  forms  the 

^  Service  berry,  June  berry,  Amelanchier  alnifolia  Nutt.     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEY   TO   RAINY   LAKE   HOUSE     435 

Arrow  of  the  Indian,  the  native  name  is  Mis-sars-cut ;  to 
which  mee-nar  is  added  for  the  berry ;  we  call  it  by  the 
native  name,  but  the  french  who  murder  every  foreign  word 
call  the  Berry,  Poires,  and  Pim-me-carn ;  Peemittegar.  I 
have  dwelt  on  the  above,  as  it  [is]  the  staple  food  of  all 
persons,  and  affords  the  most  nourishment  in  the  least  space 
and  weight,  even  the  gluttonous  french  Canadian  that  devours 
eight  pounds  of  fresh  meat  every  day  is  contented  with  one 
and  a  half  pound  p"'  day  :  it  would  be  admirable  provision 
for  the  Army  and  Navy.  It  is  at  Cumberland  House  all  the 
Pimmecan,  and  dried  provisions  of  all  kinds  procured  from 
the  great  Plains  are  brought  down  the  Saskatchewan  and 
deposited  here,  and  which  forms  the  supply  for  the  furr 
Traders  going  to,  and  coming  from,  all  the  trading  Posts ; 
By  receiving  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Saskatchewan  it  has 
remarkably  fine  Sturgeon,  a  fish  that  requires  such  water  to 
be  in  perfection. 

The  Cedar  Lake  is  fast  fiUing  up  with  alluvial  matter,  but 
has  yet  twenty  eight  miles  of  width,  which  we  crossed.  This 
Lake  takes  it's  name  from  the  small  Cedar  Wood  ^  growing  on 
it's  banks,  and  which  is  not  found  further  north  or  eastward. 
The  shores  of  this  Lake  is  of  Limestone  on  both  sides ;  from 
this  Lake  there  is  a  descent  of  five  miles  of  Rapids  to  Cross 
Lake,  which  has  a  width  of  three  miles,  and  a  length  of  nine 
miles  in  rapids  and  Falls,  is  the  discharge  into  Lake  Winepeg 
(Sea  Lake)  the  last  two  miles  is  a  carrying  place ;  the  whole 
of  this  is  Limestone,  and  forms  it's  eastern  termination ; 
coasting  sixty  eight  miles  of  the  north  end  of  this  Lake,  the 
River  again  forms,  but  the  whole  of  the  country  is  now  of 
granitic  formation,  and  continues  such  to  the  vicinity  of 
Hudson's  Bay  ;  From  the  Lake  Winepeg  it  proceeds  107  miles 
forming  Lakes  in  places  to  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
granite  formation,  it  now  forms  a  bold,  wide  rapid  River  of 
177  miles  in  length  to  Hudson's  Bay,  besides  it's  Rapids  has 
1  Thuja  occidentalis  Linn.     [E.  A.  P.] 


486     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

twenty  eight  Falls,  with  8183  yards  of  carrying  everything 
at  these  Falls  and  the  banks  of  the  River ;  the  descent  of  the 
River  in  this  last  177  miles  is  1580  feet.^  From  where  it  is 
first  navigable  for  a  Canoe  in  the  Mountains  to  it's  entrance 
into  the  Sea  it's  length  is  1725  miles,  and  this  River  drains 
an  area  of  country  of  426,529  square  miles,  the  western  parts 
to  the  Mountains  are  very  fine  countries.  This  was  formerly 
my  route  from,  and  to,  Hudson's  Bay,  but  our  course  is  along 
the  west  side  of  this  large  Lake  for  194  miles  to  the  sortie  of 
the  Winepeg  River.  The  shores  of  all  this  distance  is  of 
Limestone,  and  the  interior  country  a  fine  soil.  The  area  of 
this  Lake  is  full  14,600  S[quare]  Miles.^  Here  is  another  Depot 
of  Provisions  of  the  Pimmecan  and  other  dried  Provisions  from 
the  Red,  the  Swan,  and  Dauphin  Rivers  :  which  flow  into 
this  Lake  on  it's  west  side.  The  Winepeg  River  has  its 
scources  on  the  north  side  of  the  heights  of  Lake  Superior, 
small  streams,  which  find  and  make.  Lakes,  and  accumulate 
water,  some  of  considerable  size,  are  the  Rainy  Lake  and  Lake 
of  the  Woods.  This  range  of  country  has  a  great  descent, 
the  River  as  it  proceeds  from  Lake  to  Lake  has  many  Falls  and 
carrying  places.  We  ascended  the  River  Winepeg  130  miles, 
carrying  over  it's  33  falls,  5691  y^^  with  a  descent  of  314  feet' 
and  a  distance  of  82  miles,  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods ;  over 
which  we  went  to  the  Rainy  River,  and  up  this  fine  River, 
to  near  the  Rainy  Lake,  where  is  an  old  established  trading 
Post  and  Depot  of  Merchandize  and  Provisions  of  Maize  &c. 
and  where,  thank  God,  we  arrived  safely  on  the  22""^  of  July. 
Although  this  whole  distance  is  a  granite  formation,  yet 
the  soil  is  a  rich  loam,  tending  to  clay,  and  yields  a  good  return 
of  Wheat  and  Barley,  of  cabbages  &c  so  far  as  these  are 
sown,  which  are  always  in  small  quantities,  as  the  business  of 

*  The  length  of  Nelson  river  from  Lake  Winnipeg  to  Hudson  Bay  is 
435  miles,  and  the  descent  in  that  distance  is  712  feet. 

*  The  area  of  Lake  Winnipeg  is  9,414  square  miles. 

*  The  descent  is  347  feet. 


s 


JOURNEY  TO   RAINY   LAKE   HOUSE     437 

the  country  does  [not]  embrace  agriculture,  and  there  are  no 
Mills  for  making  Wheat  into  flour.  The  day  after  my 
arrival  a  Lady  Conjuress  made  her  appearance.  She  was  well 
dressed  of  twenty  five  years  of  age,  she  had  her  Medicine 
Bag,  and  bore  in  her  hands  a  conjuring  stick  about  4-j-  feet  in 
length  li  inch  [wide]  at  the  foot  and  three  inches  at  the  top, 
by  one  inch  in  thickness,  one  side  was  painted  black,  with  rude 
carved  figures  of  Birds  Animals  and  Insects  filled  with  ver- 
million  ;  the  other  side  was  painted  red  with  carved  figures 
in  black,  she  had  set  herself  up  for  a  prophetess,  and  gradually 
had  gained,  by  her  shrewdness,  some  influence  among  the 
Natives  as  a  dreamer,  and  expounder  of  dreams,  she  recollected 
me,  before  I  did  her,  and  gave  me  a  haughty  look  of  defiance, 
as  much  as  to  say  I  am  now  out  of  your  power.  Some  six 
years  before  this  she  was  living  with  one  of  my  men  as  his  wife, 
but  became  so  common  that  I  had  to  send  her  to  her  rela- 
tions ;  as  all  the  Indian  men  are  married,  a  courtesan  is 
neglected  by  the  men  and  hated  by  the  Women.  She  had 
turned  Prophetess  for  a  livelihood,  and  found  fools  enough 
to  support  her  :  there  is  scarce  a  character  in  civiHzed  society 
that  has  not  something  like  it  among  these  rude  people. 


CHAPTER    VI 

RETURN  JOURNEY   TO   COLUMBIA   BY 
DEFILES  OF  ATHABASCA   RIVER 

Leave  Rainy  Lake  House — Canoe  -party  attacked  by  Peeagans — 
Rest  oj  party  pursued — ^aved  by  three  grizled  bears — Find 
canoe  party  safe — Turn  to  the  defiles  of  the  Athabasca  River 
for  safety — Arrive  at  Athabasca  River — Abandon  horses — 
Build  caches — Proceed  on  snozvshoes  and  with  dog  sleds — 
Build  a  cache — French  Canadians — Enter  defiles  of  Rocky 
Mountains  supposed  by  the  Indians  to  be  the  home  of  the 
Mammoth — Tracks  of  a  large  unknown  animal — Reach 
Secondary  Mountains — Reach  height  of  land — The  men  dis- 
couraged— Enormous  glacier — Boring  holes  in  the  snow — 
Begin  descent  of  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains — Arrive  at 
the  Columbia — Men  desert — Remarks  on  the  climate  and 
country. 

HAVING  now  made  an  assortment  of  goods,  where- 
with to  load  four  Canoes  for  the  furr  trade  of  the 
interior  country,  we  left  this  Depot ;  and  by  the 
same  route  we  had  come  proceeded  to  the  Saskatchewan 
River  and  continued  to  Cumberland  House,  where  we  took 
dried  Provisions  to  keep  us  until  we  shoiild  come  to  where 
the  Bisons  are  ;  after  which  we  lived  by  hunting  them  to 
the  upper  end  of  the  Plains ;  to  where  the  River  passes 
through  Forests  to  the  Mountains.  Here  engaged  two  native 
men  to  hunt  for  us,  the  Red  Deer  and  Bisons  of  the  Woods. 
The  manner  of  furnishing  the  Men  with  Provisions,  was  by 

hunting  these  animals,  and  bringing  their  meat  by  Horses  to 

438 


RETURN  JOURNEY   TO   COLUMBIA      439 

the  Canoes  a  supply  for  full  three  days ;  when  we  appointed 
a  place  to  meet  them  with  a  fresh  supply  ;  thus  the  Canoes 
proceeded  to  within  twenty  miles  of  the  east  foot  of  the 
Mountains ;  ^  we  had  given  them  a  full  supply  for  three  days, 
and  M^  WilHam  Henry,  the  two  Indians  and  myself  proceeded 
to  the  foot  of  the  Mountains,  where  we  killed  three  Red 
Deer,  made  a  Stage  and  placed  the  meat  on  it  in  safety  to 
wait  the  Canoes.^  This  was  on  the  13'''  October  18 10,  and  we 
expected  the  Canoes  to  arrive  late  on  the  16'''  or  early  on 
the  1 7'*"  at  latest,  but  they  did  not  make  their  appearance ; 
our  oldest  Hunter  of  about  forty  years  of  age  as  usual  rose 
very  early  in  the  morning  and  looking  at  the  Stage  of  Meat, 
said  to  me,  I  have  had  bad  dreams,  this  meat  will  never  be 
eaten,  he  then  saddled  his  Horse  and  rode  off.  Somewhat 
alarmed  at  his  ominous  expression  and  the  non  arrival  of  the 
canoes,  I  told  M'  Henry  and  the  Indian  to  proceed  thro'  the 
Woods  down  along  the  River  in  search  of  the  Canoes,  and 
see  what  detained  them,  with  positive  orders  not  to  fire  a 
shot  but  in  self  defence  ;  about  eight  in  the  evening  they 
returned,  and  related,  that  a  few  miles  below  us  they  had 

*  On  his  way  up  the  Saskatchewan  Thompson  had  stopped,  from  Sep- 
tember 6  to  September  1 1,  at  Terre  Blanche  House,  where  Alexander  Henry 
was  in  charge.  Along  with  William  Henry,  he  had  set  out  from  there  on 
horseback,  and  on  September  15  had  passed  White  Mud  House. 

*  On  September  8  the  canoes  had  passed  Terre  Blanche  House,  and 
had  thence  continued  up  the  river  to  a  place  about  a  day's  journey  above 
Rocky  Mountain  House,  where  they  were  stopped  by  Black  Bear,  a  chief 
of  the  Piegan,  and  ordered  to  turn  back.  After  some  hesitation  they 
returned  to  Rocky  Mountain  House,  which  they  reached  on  September  24. 
On  October  1 1 ,  however,  they  again  set  out  up  the  river,  this  time  in  the 
night.  The  next  morning  William  Henry  arrived  with  a  message  from 
Thompson  ;  and  the  following  day  Alexander  Henry  went  in  a  canoe  to 
Thompson's  camp,  which  was  "  on  top  of  a  hill  300  feet  above  the  water, 
where  tall  pines  stood  so  thickly  that  I  could  not  see  his  tent  until  I  came 
within  10  yards  of  it."  Next  day  Alexander  Henry  returned  to  Rocky 
Mountain  House,  and  on  his  arrival  there  he  sent  William  Henry  on 
horseback  to  order  the  Columbia  canoes  to  come  back  down  the  river  to 
Thompson.  For  a  fuller  account  of  this  stirring  episode,  see  Coues,  New 
Light,  pp.  640-655. 


440      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

seen  a  camp  of  Peeagans  on  the  bank  of  the  River,  that  a 
short  distance  below  the  camp,  they  had  descended  the  bank 
to  the  River  side,  and  found  where  the  Canoes  had  been. 
They  had  made  a  low  rampart  of  Stones  to  defend  themselves, 
and  there  was  blood  on  the  stones ;  they  went  below  this 
and  fired  a  shot  in  hopes  of  an  answer  from  the  Canoes,  but 
it  was  not  returned :  I  told  them  they  had  acted  very 
fooHshly,  that  the  Peeagans  would  be  on  us  very  early  in  the 
morning,  and  that  we  must  start  at  the  dawn  of  day,  and 
ride  for  our  Hves ;  on  this  we  acted  the  next  morning,  and 
rode  off,  leaving  the  meat  :  the  country  we  had  to  pass  over 
was  an  open  forest,  but  we  had  to  cross,  or  ride  round  so 
many  fallen  trees  that  active  Men  on  foot  could  easily  keep 
up  with  us ;  the  Peeagans  had  very  early  arrived  at  the  Stage 
of  meat  and  directly  followed  the  tracks  of  the  Horses,  and 
would  in  the  evening  have  come  up  with  us,  but  providenti- 
ally about  one  in  afternoon  snow  came  on  which  covered  our 
tracks  and  retarded  them ;  about  an  hour  after,  as  they 
related,  they  came  on  three  grizled  Bears  direct  on  the  track 
(they  were  smelling  the  tracks  of  the  Horses)  they  were  fully 
perswaded  that  I  had  placed  the  Bears  there  to  prevent  any 
further  pursuit ;  nor  could  any  arguments  to  the  contrary 
make  them  believe  otherwise  and  this  behef  was  a  mercy  to 
us  :  we  rode  on  through  the  Woods  until  it  was  nearly  dark, 
when  we  were  obliged  to  stop  ;  we  remained  quiet  awaiting 
our  fortune,  when  finding  all  quiet,  we  made  a  small  fire, 
and  passed  the  night  with  some  anxiety ;  my  situation  pre- 
cluded sleep,  cut  off  from  my  men,  uncertain  where  to  find 
them,  and  equally  so  of  the  movements  of  the  Indians,  I  was 
at  a  loss  what  to  do,  or  which  way  to  proceed  ;  morning  came 
and  I  had  to  determine  what  course  to  take,  after  being 
much  perplexed  whether  I  should  take  to  the  defiles  of  the 
Mountains  and  see  if  the  Men  and  Horses  were  safe  that 
were  left  there  ;  or  try  and  find  my  Men  and  Canoes.  I 
determined  upon  the  latter  as  of  the  most  importance  ;    on 


RETURN   JOURNEY   TO   COLUMBIA      441 

the  second  day  we  found  them  about  forty  miles  below  the 
Indians,  at  a  trading  Post  lately  deserted  ;  here  after  much 
consultations,  we  fully  perceived  we  had  no  further  hopes  of 
passing  in  safety  by  the  defiles  of  the  Saskatchewan  River, 
and  that  we  must  now  change  our  route  to  the  defiles  of  the 
Athabasca  River  which  would  place  us  in  safety,  but  would 
be  attended  with  great  inconvenience,  fatigue,  suffering  and 
privation ;  but  there  was  no  alternative.  We  therefore 
directed  the  Men  to  proceed  through  the  woods  to  the 
defiles  of  the  Mountains  and  bring  down  the  Horses  to  take 
the  Goods  across  the  country  to  the  Athabasca  River,  and  on 
the  zS*'^  October  they  arrived  with  twenty  four  Horses  and 
we  were  now  in  all  twenty  four  Men ;  having  furnished 
ourselves  with  leather  Tents  and  dressed  leather  for  shoes ; 
we  loaded  our  Horses  in  proportion  to  their  strength  from 
1 80  to  240  pounds  weight  each  Horse,  and  arranged  the  Men, 
four  to  hunt  and  procure  provisions,  two  Men  to  clear  a  path 
thro'  the  woods,  the  other  taking  care  of  the  Horses,  and  other 
duties ;  with  Thomas  an  Iroquois  Indian  as  Guide ;  our 
road  lay  over  the  high  grounds  within  about  thirty  miles  of 
the  Mountains ;  the  Woods  are  mostly  of  a  kind  of  Cypress, 
of  small  clean  growth,  and  not  close.  With  occasional  cutting 
away  of  few  trees  we  should  have  made  several  miles  a  day, 
but  the  forests  are  so  frequently  burned  and  occasions  so 
many  windfalls,  that  the  Horses  make  very  slow  progress, 
thus  the  dense  forests  are  destroyed  and  meadows  formed. 
We  went  eight  miles  in  six  and  a  half  hours,  and  put  up, 
without  any  supper.  The  country  tolerable  good  with  Pine 
and  Aspin  Woods. 

October  30'^.  The  hunters,  thank  heaven,  killed  two 
cow  Bisons  and  a  young  grizled  Bear.  We  went  six  miles  and 
camped,  as  we  had  to  collect  the  meat,  the  ground  was  wet, 
the  Horses  fatigued  and  heavy  loaded. 

October  31^'.  As  usual  the  weather  tolerable,  we  spent 
three  hours  clearing  a  path  through  the  woods,  which  enabled 


442      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

us  to  make  a  march  of  eleven  miles.  Our  hunt  to  day  was  one 
fat  Antelope.^ 

November  i".  A  fine  cloudy  day,  Thomas  the  Guide 
with  two  men  passed  the  day  examining  the  country  which 
they  found  passable,  but  no  success  in  hunting. 

November  2"*^.  A  fine  warm  day.  Having  for  near  three 
hours  cleared  a  path  through  the  woods,  we  went  ten  miles, 
in  this  distance  we  crossed  the  Pembinaw  River  of  forty  yards 
in  width,  but  shoal ;  this  name  is  a  corruption  of  Neepin- 
menan  (Summer  Berry).  Observed  for  Latitude  and  Longi- 
tude. The  Horses  in  going  thro'  the  wood  often  deranged 
their  loads,  and  as  they  came  ;  the  wet  ground  of  to-day, 
with  burnt  fallen  wood  fatigued  the  Horses,  and  we  camped 
early.  And  thus  we  continued  with  the  usual  occurrences 
and  mishaps  to  the  29'''  of  November,  when  we  came  on  the 
Athabasca  River  ;  up  which  we  ascended  till  the  afternoon 
of  the  4*''  of  December ;  ^  here  our  Guide  told  me  it  was  of 
no  use  at  this  late  season  to  think  of  going  any  further  with 
Horses,  and  part  were  sent  to  the  Mountain  House,  but  from 
this  place  prepare  ourselves  with  Snow  Shoes  and  Sleds  to 
cross  the  Mountains  :  Accordingly  the  next  day  we  began 
to  make  Log  Huts  to  secure  the  Goods,  and  Provisions,  and 
shelter  ourselves  from  the  cold  and  bad  weather  ;  the  Ther- 
mometer on  our  march  had  descended  to  -32  which  is 
64  degrees  below  the  freezing  point,  and  by  meanS  of  this 
intense   cold,   the    marshes    and   morasses   were   frozen   over, 

1  On  the  evening  of  this  day,  as  they  were  camped  on  the  banks  of  the 
Pembina  river,  two  men,  Pichette  and  Cote,  arrived  with  letters  and  pro- 
visions from  Alexander  Henry  at  Rocky  Mountain  House  ;  and  the  next 
day  Thompson  sent  back  five  men  and  five  horses  with  letters. 

*  The  previous  day  Thomas,  the  Iroquois,  had  brought  them  to  an 
island  in  Brule  lake,  where  there  was  an  old  hunter's  hut  or  cabin,  small, 
very  dirty,  without  any  windows,  and  with  no  grass  in  the  vicinity  for  the 
horses.  They  refused  to  stop  at  this  hut,  and  moved  on  to  a  place  five 
miles  north  of  it,  at  "  a  small  fountain  of  water  among  pines  and  aspens, 
with  plenty  of  grass  for  the  horses."  Here  they  remained  for  the  next 
twenty-five  days. 


RETURN   JOURNEY    TO   COLUMBIA      443 

which  enabled  our  Horses  to  pass  over  them  with  safety. 
And  as  yet,  we  have  not  more  than  six  inches  of  snow  on  the 
ground. 

Our  whole  attention  for  the  present  was  turned  to  hunting 
and  securing  provisions ;  having  now  made  Snow  Shoes,  and 
Sleds,  on  the  30'*^  day  of  December^  we  commenced  our 
journey  to  cross  the  Mountains  and  proceeded  up  the  Atha- 
basca River,  sometimes  on  it's  shoals  and  ice,  and  at  times 
through  the  woods  of  it's  banks.  The  soil  was  sandy  and  a 
Gale  of  Wind  drifted  it  to  lie  on  the  low  branched  pines,  of 
wretched  growth,  for  Snow  does  not  lie  on  Sand  Hills ;  On 
the  31^'  December  we  proceeded  but  slowly  and  I  had  to 
reduce  the  weight  of  the  Loads  of  the  Dogs  to  less  than  two 
thirds,  and  make  a  Log  Hoard  to  secure  what  we  left.  This, 
the  work  of  two  hours  the  men  took  five  hours  to  finish, 
during  which  time  they  cooked  twice  a  four  gallon  Kettle 
full  of  Meat,  which  they  devoured,  although  they  had  had  a 
hearty  breakfast,  in  fact  a  french  Canadian  has  the  appetite 
of  a  Wolf,  and  glories  in  it ;  each  man  requires  eight  pounds 
of  meat  p"^  day,  or  more ;  upon  my  reproaching  some  of  them 
with  their  gluttony,  the  reply  I  got  was,  "  What  pleasure 
have  we  in  Life  but  eating."  A  French  Canadian  if  left  to 
himself,  and  living  on  what  his  Master  has,  will  rise  very  early 
make  a  hearty  meal,  smoke  his  pipe,  and  lie  down  to  sleep, 
and  he  will  do  Httle  else  through  the  day  :  to  enumerate 
the  large  animals  that  had  been  killed,  and  I  may  say  devoured 
by  my  men  would  not  be  credible  to  a  man  of  a  regular  life, 

^  It  was  on  December  29  that  Thompson  left  William  Henry  with  the 
horses,  and  set  out  with  dogs  and  sleds  to  make  the  final  dash  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Columbia  river,  "  I  gave  the  men  their  loads 
for  the  sleds,"  he  says  in  his  note-books,  "  each  sled  that  has  2  Dogs — 
B.  D'Eau,  Cote,  Luscier  and  L'Amoureux  have  120  lbs  and  necessaries  for 
the  journey,  and  Vallade,  Battoche,  Pareil  and  Du  Nord  each  i  Dog  and 
sled,  have  70  lbs  per  sled.  4  horses  loaded  with  meat,  having  208  lbs  of 
Pemican,  35  lbs  of  Grease  and  60  lbs  of  flour  also  accompany  us  to  ease 
the  dogs  under  the  care  of  Villiard  and  Vaudette.  Thomas  the  Iroquois 
for  guide  and  Baptiste  for  hunter." 


444      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

yet  these  same  hardy  Canadians,  as  future  years  proved  to  me, 
could  live  upon  as  little  as  any  other  person.  In  their  own 
houses  in  Canada  a  few  ounces  of  Pork,  with  plenty  of  coarse 
bread  and  Potatoes  is  sufficient  for  the  day,  and  [they  are] 
contented.  Yet  the  same  Men  when  with  me  on  government 
surveys,  where  the  allowance  was  one  pound  of  mess  Pork 
(the  best)  one  and  a  half  pound  of  good  fresh  Biscuit  and 
half  a  pound  of  pease,  did  not  find  it  too  much,  and  the 
evening  of  each  day  left  nothing.     Thus  ended  the  year. 

1811.  January  I*'.  The  Thermometer -22.  Our  Hunters 
were  fortunate  in  killing  two  young  Bulls,  and  a  Mountain 
Sheep ;  we  marched  all  day  to  4f  pm  when  we  camped, 
placing  the  branches  of  the  Pine  under  us,  and  a  few  small 
branchy  Trees  to  windward,  this  was  all  our  protection  from 
the  bitter  cold, 

January  2"'*.  Ther  -  20.  Collected  the  meat  of  the  hunt 
of  yesterday,  and  staid  all  day  roughly  spHtting  and  drying 
what  we  could  to  take  with  us,  as  [of]  meat  in  this  state, 
the  weight  is  much  lessened  but  not  the  nourishment.  I  now 
lessened  the  Dog  Sleds  to  eight,  the  men  had  beaten  two  of 
them  to  be  useless  ;  a  Canadian  never  seems  to  be  better 
pleased  than,  [when]  swearing  at,  and  flogging  his  Dogs.  It 
is  quite  his  amusement,  careless  of  consequences. 

Jany  3'**.     Arrangements  for  the  journey. 

Jany  4***.  As  usual  the  Men  early  up  cooking  a  plentiful 
breakfast,  they  are  stimulated  to  this  by  the  sight  of  the 
snowy  Mountains  before  us,  and  are  determined  to  put  them- 
selves in  a  good  condition  for  fasting,  with  which  the  passage 
of  the  Mountains  threaten  them. 

Jany  5'^.  Thermometer  -  26  very  cold.  Having  secured 
the  goods  and  provisions  we  could  not  take  with  us,  by  11  am 
set  off  with  eight  Sleds,  to  each  two  dogs,  with  goods  and 
Provisions  to  cross  the  Mountains,  and  three  Horses  to  assist 
us  as  far  as  the  depth  of  the  Snow  will  permit.  We  are  now 
entering  the  defiles  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  the  Athabasca 


RETURN   JOURNEY   TO  COLUMBIA      445 

River,  the  woods  of  Pine  are  stunted,  full  of  branches  to  the 
ground,  and  the  Aspin,  Willow  &c  not  much  better  :  strange 
to  say,  here  is  a  strong  belief  that  the  haunt  of  the  Mammoth, 
is  about  this  defile,  I  questioned  several,  none  could  positively 
say,  they  had  seen  him,  but  their  belief  I  found  firm  and  not 
to  be  shaken.  I  remarked  to  them,  that  such  an  enormous 
heavy  Animal  must  leave  indelible  marks  of  his  feet,  and  his 
feeding.  This  they  all  acknowledged,  and  that  they  had  never 
seen  any  marks  of  him,  and  therefore  could  show  me  none. 
All  I  could  say  did  not  shake  their  behef  in  his  existence. 

January  6^^.  We  came  to  the  last  grass  for  the  Horses 
in  Marshes  and  along  small  Ponds,  where  a  herd  of  Bisons 
had  lately  been  feeding  ;  and  here  we  left  the  Horses  poor 
and  tired,  and  notwithstanding  the  bitter  cold,  [they]  lived 
through  the  winter,  yet  they  have  only  a  clothing  of  close 
hair,  short  and  without  any  furr. 

January  y^^.  Continuing  our  journey  in  the  afternoon  we 
came  on  the  track  of  a  large  animal,  the  snow  about  six  inches 
deep  on  the  ice  ;  I  measured  it ;  four  large  toes  each  of  four 
inches  in  length  to  each  a  short  claw  ;  the  ball  of  the  foot 
sunk  three  inches  lower  than  the  toes,  the  hinder  part  of  the 
foot  did  not  mark  well,  the  length  fourteen  inches,  by  eight 
inches  in  breadth,  walking  from  north  to  south,  and  having 
passed  about  six  hours.  W^e  were  in  no  humour  to  follow  him  : 
the  Men  and  Indians  would  have  it  to  be  a  young  mammoth 
and  I  held  it  to  be  the  track  of  a  large  old  grizled  Bear ;  yet 
the  shortness  of  the  nails,  the  ball  of  the  foot,  and  it's  great 
size  was  not  that  of  a  Bear,  otherwise  that  of  a  very  large  old 
Bear,  his  claws  worn  away ;  this  the  Indians  would  not  allow. 
Saw  several  tracks  of  Moose  Deer.     9  pm  Ther  -  4. 

Janu[ar]y  S^^.  A  fine  day.  We  are  now  following  the 
Brooks  in  the  open  defiles  of  the  secondary  Mountains ;  when 
we  can  no  longer  follow  it,  the  road  is  to  cross  a  point  of  high 
land,  very  fatigueing,  and  come  on  another  Brook,  and  thus  in 
succession  ;    these  secondary   Mountains  appear  to  be  about 


446      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

2  to  3000  feet  above  their  base,  with  patches  of  dwarf  pines, 
and  much  snow  ;  we  marched  ten  miles  today  ;  and  as  we 
advance  we  feel  the  mild  weather  from  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
This  morning  at  7  am  Ther  +6  at  9  pm  +22.  One  of  my 
men  named  Du  Nord  beat  a  dog  to  death,  he  is  what  we 
call  a  "  flash  "  man,  a  showy  fellow  before  the  women  but 
a  coward  in  heart,  and  would  willingly  desert  if  he  had  courage 
to  go  alone  ;  very  glutinous  and  requires  full  ten  pounds  of 
meat  each  day.  And  as  I  am  constantly  ahead  [I]  cannot 
prevent  his  dog  flogging  and  beating  :  We  saw  no  tracks  of 
Animals. 

January  9*''.  Ther  +32.  SE  wind  and  snowed  all  day 
which  made  hauling  very  bad.  We  could  proceed  only  about 
four  miles,  this  partly  up  a  brook  and  then  over  a  steep  high 
point  with  dwarf  pines.  We  had  to  take  only  half  a  load  and 
return  for  the  rest.  The  snow  is  full  seven  feet  deep,  tho' 
firm  and  wet,  yet  the  Dogs  often  sunk  in  it,  but  our  snow 
shoes  did  [not]  sink  more  than  three  inches ;  and  the  weather 
so  mild  that  the  snow  is  dropping  from  the  trees,  and  every- 
thing wet ;  here  the  Men  finished  the  last  of  the  fresh  and 
half  dried  Meat,  which  I  find  to  be  eight  pounds  for  each 
man  p'  day.     Ther  +22. 

January  lo'*'.  Ther  +16.  A  day  of  Snow  and  southerly 
Gale  of  wind,  the  afternoon  fine,  the  view  now  before  us  was 
an  ascent  of  deep  snow,  in  all  appearance  to  the  height  of 
land  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  it  was  to  me 
a  most  exhilarating  sight,  but  to  my  uneducated  men  a 
dreadful  sight,  they  had  no  scientific  object  in  view,  their 
feelings  were  of  the  place  they  were ;  our  guide  Thomas 
told  us,  that  although  we  could  barely  find  wood  to  make  a 
fire,  we  must  now  provide  wood  to  pass  the  following  night 
on  the  height  of  the  defile  we  were  in,  and  which  we  had 
to  follow  ;  my  men  were  the  most  hardy  that  could  be  picked 
out  of  a  hundred  brave  hardy  Men,  but  the  scene  of  desolation 
before  us  was  dreadful,  and  I  knew  it,  a  heavy  gale  of  wind 


RETURN   JOURNEY   TO   COLUMBIA      447 

much  more  a  mountain  storm  would  have  buried  us  beneath 
it,  but  thank  God  the  weather  was  fine,  we  had  to  cut  wood 
such  as  it  was,  and  each  took  a  Httle  on  his  sled,  yet  such 
was  the  despondency  of  the  Men,  aided  by  the  coward  Du 
Nord,  sitting  down  at  every  half  mile,  that  when  night  came, 
we  had  only  wood  to  make  a  bottom,  and  on  this  to  lay 
wherewith  to  make  a  small  fire,  which  soon  burnt  out  and  in 
this  exposed  situation  we  passed  the  rest  of  a  long  night 
without  fire,  and  part  of  my  men  had  strong  feelings  of  per- 
sonal insecurity,  on  our  right  about  one  third  of  a  mile  from 
us  lay  an  enormous  Glacier,  the  eastern  face  of  which  quite 
steep,  of  about  two  thousand  feet  in  height,  was  of  a  clean 
fine  green  color,  which  I  much  admired  but  whatever  was 
the  appearance,  my  opinion  was,  that  the  whole  was  not 
solid  ice,  but  formed  on  rocks  from  rills  of  water  frozen  in 
their  course  ;  westward  of  this  steep  face,  we  could  see  the 
glacier  with  it's  fine  green  color  and  it's  patches  of  snow  in 
a  gentle  slope  for  about  two  miles ;  eastward  of  this  glacier 
and  near  to  us,  was  a  high  steep  wall  of  rock,  at  the  foot  of 
this,  with  a  fine  south  exposure  had  grown  a  Httle  Forest  of 
Pines  of  about  five  hundred  yards  in  length  by  one  hundred 
in  breadth,  by  some  avalanche  they  had  all  been  cut  clean  off 
as  with  a  scythe,  not  one  of  these  trees  appeared  an  inch 
higher  than  the  others.  My  men  were  not  at  their  ease,  yet 
when  night  came  they  admired  the  briUiancy  of  the  Stars, 
and  as  one  of  them  said,  he  thought  he  could  almost  touch 
them  with  his  hand  :  as  usual,  when  the  fire  was  made  I  set 
off  to  examine  the  country  before  us,  and  found  we  had  now 
to  descend  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains ;  I  returned  and 
found  part  of  my  Men  with  a  Pole  of  twenty  feet  in  length 
boring  the  Snow  to  find  the  bottom  ;  I  told  them  while  we 
had  good  Snow  Shoes  it  was  no  matter  to  us  whether  the 
Snow  was  ten  or  one  hundred  feet  deep.  On  looking  into  the 
hole  they  had  bored,  I  was  surprised  to  see  the  color  of  the  sides 
of  a  beautiful  blue ;    the  surface  was  of  a  very  light  color, 


448     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

but  as  it  descended  the  color  became  more  deep,  and  at  the 
lowest  point  was  of  a  blue,  almost  black.  The  altitude  of 
this  place  above  the  level  of  the  Ocean,  by  the  point  of  boiling 
water  is  computed  to  be  eleven  thousand  feet  (Sir  George 
Simpson) .'  Many  reflections  came  on  my  mind  ;  a  new  world 
was  in  a  manner  before  me,  and  my  object  was  to  be  at  the 
Pacific  Ocean  before  the  month  of  August,^  how  were  we  to 
find  Provisions,  and  how  many  Men  would  remain  with  me, 
for  they  were  dispirited,  amidst  various  thoughts  I  fell  asleep 
on  my  bed  of  Snow. 

Early  next  morning  we  began  our  descent,  here  we  soon 
found  ourselves  not  only  with  a  change  of  climate,  but  more 
so  of  Forest  Trees,  we  had  not  gone  half  a  mile  before  we 
came  to  fine  tall  clean  grown  Pines  of  eighteen  feet  girth. 
The  descent  was  so  steep  that  the  Dogs  could  not  guide  the 
Sleds,  and  often  came  across  the  Trees  with  some  force,  the 
Dogs  on  one  side  and  the  Sled  on  the  other,  which  gave  us 
some  trouble  to  disentangle  them  ;  after  a  hurried  day's 
march  down  the  mountain  we  came,  on  a  Brook  and  camped 
on  the  Snow,  it  being  too  deep  to  clear  away. 

January  1 1"*.  The  weather  bad,  though  mild,  we  continued 
our  descent,  but  steep  only  in  two  places,  and  at  length  came 
on  a  tolerable  level  country ;  and  camped  at  the  junction  of 
two  brooks  ;  here  Thomas  came  to  us,  he  had,  thank  Heaven, 
killed  two  Buck  Moose  Deer,  very  much  wanted ;  I  gave  the 
Men  some  Pemmecan  for  supper,  and  limited  the  quantity, 
part  of  them  grumbled,  although  they  are  sure  that  early 
the  morrow  they  will  have  two  large  deer  to  eat ;  in  the  last 
thirty  six  hours  they  have  devoured  fifty  six  pounds  of 
pemmecan,  being  one  fourth  of  all  we  have  :  we  have  come 
about  9  miles. 

1  The  altitude  is  6,025  feet. 

^  This  is  the  only  statement  of  Thompson's  as  yet  discovered  with 
regard  to  the  date  on  which  he  expected  to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
river.  It  argues  against  any  extreme  haste  on  his  part  to  forestall  the 
Astor  party.     [T.  C.  E.] 


RETURN   JOURNEY   TO   COLUMBIA      449 

January  12'*'.  A  day  of  Snow,  all  we  could  do  was  to 
bring  the  meat  of  the  two  deer,  split  and  partly  dry  the 
fleshy  parts. 

Jan[ua]ry  13"*.  Ther  +14.  Sent  the  Men  to  collect  and 
bring  forward  the  Goods  left  on  the  Way  ;  which  they  brought 
except  five  pounds  of  Ball,  which  being  in  a  leather  bag  was 
carried  away  by  a  Wolverene. 

Thus  we  continued  day  after  day  to  march  a  few  miles,^  as 
the  Snow  was  too  wet  and  too  deep  to  allow  the  dogs  to  make 
any  progress ;  on  the  26'**  we  put  up  on  the  banks  of  the 
Columbia  River,  my  Men  had  become  so  disheartened,  sitting 
down  every  half  mile,  and  perfectly  lost  at  all  they  saw  around 
them  so  utterly  different  from  the  east  side  of  the  Moun- 
tains, four  of  them  deserted  to  return  back ;  and  I  was  not 
sorry  to  be  rid  of  them,  as  for  more  than  a  month  past  they 
had  been  very  useless,  in  short  they  became  an  incumbrance 
on  me,  and  the  other  men  were  equally  so  to  be  rid  of  them  ; 
having  now  taken  up  my  residence  for  the  rest  of  the  winter 
I  may  make  my  remarks  on  the  countries  and  the  climates 
we  have  passed. 

On  the  east  side  the  snow  is  light  and  about  two  feet  in 
depth  :  on  the  west  side  which  is  open  to  the  winds  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  the  distance  short  the  snow  loads  the  Moun- 
tains and  the  low  lands  northward  of  about  150  miles  below 
the  head  of  the  Columbia  River,  (southward  of  which  there 

1  On  January  i8,  Thompson  reached  a  point  within  a  mile  of  the 
Columbia  river.  From  January  19  to  January  23,  he  continued  south- 
ward along  the  bank  of  this  river ;  but  in  this  time  he  advanced  in  all 
only  about  twelve  miles.  Some  of  his  men  refused  to  go  with  him  farther, 
and  in  consequence  he  "  determined  to  return  to  the  junction  of  the  rivers 
Flatheart  and  Canoe  river,  with  the  I^ootanae  River,  and  then  wait  for 
men,  goods,  provisions,  &c.,  and  build  canoes  for  the  journey."  On 
January  26  they  reached  Canoe  river,  where,  says  Thompson  in  his  notes, 
"  Du  Nord,  Bapt.  Le  Tendre  and  Bapt.  D'Eau  deserted.  Em  Luscier 
returned  ill  and  Pareil  and  Cote  I  sent  with  letters  to  Mr.  Wm.  Henry  and 
to  bring  more  goods.  Vallade  and  L'Amoureux  stay  here  with  me.  I 
wrote  letters  on  boards  to  Mr.  Wm.  Henry  and  to  the  partners." 

2  F 


450      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

is  a  wide  valley  with  very  little  or  no  snow.)  On  the  east 
side  the  Climate  is  severe.  December  24,  1810.  7  am  -32, 
9  PM  -22.  December  25'*'  7  am  Ther  -  30  9  pm  -22 
December  16^^  7  am  -  34  9  pm  -  24  :  this  is  a  sample  of  many 
bitter  days.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains,  January  17''' 
7  am  +30  only  two  degrees  below  the  freezing  point  9  am  +  34 
Jany  18""  7  am  +35  9  pm  +34  the  19^'*  7  am  +36  9  pm  +36, 
steady  rain,  showing  a  difference  of  cHmate  in  these  cold 
months  of  upwards  of  sixty  degrees  in  favor  of  the  west  side  ; 
these  days  are  chosen  as  being  the  last  remarks  on  the  state 
of  the  Thermometer  on  the  east  side,  and  the  first,  and  nearest 
in  point  of  time  on  the  west  side. 

The  east  side  of  the  Mountains  is  formed  of  long  slopes, 
very  few  in  this  defile  that  are  steep  ;  but  the  west  side  is 
more  abrupt,  and  has  many  places  that  require  steady  sure 
footed  Horses,  to  descend  it's  banks  in  the  open  season  :  one 
is  tempted  to  enquire  what  may  be  the  volume  of  water 
contained  in  the  immense  quantities  of  snow  brought  to,  and 
lodged  on,  the  Mountains,  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  how 
from  an  Ocean  of  salt  water  the  immense  evaporation  con- 
stantly going  on  is  pure  fresh  water  ;  these  are  mysterious 
operations  on  a  scale  so  vast  that  the  human  mind  is  lost  in 
the  contemplation. 


CHAPTER    VII 

JOURNEY   FROM   CANOE   RIVER  TO 
ILTHKOYAPE    FALLS 

Residence  at  junction  of  two  rivers  with  the  Columbia — Trees  of 
enormous  growth — Build  a  hut — Send  letters  but  men  cannot 
"proceed  through  the  snow — Make  a  canoe  from  cedar  wood — 
Prepare  for  voyage — Start  of-  into  Saleesh  country — Meet 
Nepissing  and  Iroquois  Indians — Continue  journey — 
Columbia  River — M'Gillivray^s  River — Meet  Kootanae 
Indians  at  Saleesh  River — Abandon  canoes — Saleesh  River 
swollen  into  a  dangerous  stream — Country  inundated — 
Arrive  at  Spokane  River — War  habits  of  Kullyspel  Indians 
— Continue  Journey — Arrive  at  Spokane  House — War  party 
of  Kullyspel  and  Shawpatin  Indians — Break  up  war  party 
— Arrive  at  Ilthkoyape  Falls. 

OLTR  residence  was  near  the  junction  of  two  Rivers  from 
the  Mountains  with  the  Columbia  :  ^  the  upper 
Stream  which  forms  the  defile  by  which  we  came  to 
the  Columbia,  I  named  the  Flat  Heart,  from  the  Men  being 
dispirited ;  it  had  nothing  particular.  The  other  was  the 
Canoe  River ;  which  ran  through  a  bold  rude  valley,  of  a 
steady  descent,  which  gave  to  this  River  a  very  rapid  descent 
without  any  falls  :  yet  such  was  the  steady  slope  of  it's  current 

1  This  was  the  famous  "  Boat  Encampment  "  of  later  times,  the 
rendezvous  for  travel  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  the  Athabaska 
Pass.  Thompson's  "  Flat  Heart  "  river  is  now  Wood  river.  It  is  clear 
from  this  text  that  both  the  Athabaska  Pass  and  the  Canoe  river  region 
had  been  visited  earlier  than  this  by  the  guide,  Thomas  the  Iroquois,  and 
by  other  Nipissing  and  Iroquois  Indians  ;  but  Thompson  was  the  first  white 
man  to  cross  it.     [T.  C.  E.] 

451 


452      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

that  by  close  examination  I  estimated  it's  change  of  level  to 
be  full  three  feet  in  each  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  it's 
breadth  thirty  yards,  the  water  clear  over  a  bed  of  pebbles 
and  small  stones.  Moose  Deer  and  Beaver  were  plentiful  and 
the  mildness  of  the  climate,  and  large  supply  of  water  induced 
many  of  them  to  build  slight  houses,  or  to  live  on  the  banks 
of  the  River  and  it's  many  Brooks ;  these  two  streams,  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills  have  formed  a  wide  alluvial,  on  which  are 
forest  Trees  of  enormous  size  ;  the  white  Cedars  were  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  six  feet  girth  ;  clean  grown  and  tall  in  pro- 
portion, numbers  were  of  the  largest  size,  and  in  walking 
round  them  they  appeared  to  have  six  or  eight  sides.  The 
pines  were  from  eighteen  to  forty  two  feet  in  girth,  measured 
at  ten  feet  above  the  ground,  which  the  snow  enabled  us  to 
do.  They  were  finely  formed,  and  rose  full  two  hundred  feet 
without  a  branch,  and  threw  off  very  luxuriant  heads  ;  the 
white  Birch  was  also  a  stately  Tree,  tall  and  erect,  but  none 
above  fifteen  feet  girth  and  these  were  few  ;  what  appeared 
remarkable  these  gigantic  Trees  did  not  intermix  with  each 
other.  The  Birch  was  distinct  from  the  others,  neither  Pine 
nor  cedar  grew  among  them  ;  next  to  the  Birch  was  the 
Cedar,  with  scarce  a  Pine  amongst  them,  and  then  the  Pine 
Forest  with  very  few  Cedars  ;  these  Forests  did  not  extend 
beyond  these  alluvials  ;  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains  the 
Trees  were  small,  a  stunted  growth  with  branches  to  the 
ground ;  there  we  were  Men,  but  on  the  west  side  we  were 
pigmies  ;  in  such  forests  what  could  we  do  with  Axes  of  two 
pounds  weight.  We  sought  for  Elm  and  Ash  as  congenial  to 
the  soil,  but  found  none. 

On  the  27'*"  January  we  set  to  work  to  clear  away  the 
Snow  to  the  depth  of  three  feet  almost  as  firm  as  Ice,  and  with 
Boards  split  from  the  Cedar  Trees  made  a  Hut  of  about 
twelve  feet  square  in  which  we  were  tolerably  comfortable  ; 
our  great  anxiety  was  to  procure  provisions  ;  on  visiting  the 
ground  between  the  River  and    the    Mountains  not  a  track 


JOURNEY   TO    ILTHKOYAPE   FALLS     453 

was  seen,  but  on  the  long  descents  of  Mount  Nelson  ^  we 
found  Moose  Deer,  each  was,  as  it  were  shut  up  in  a  pound 
formed  of  hard  snow,  from  which  they  could  not  move,  it 
was  formed  of  a  rude  circle  among  Willows  and  young  Aspins ; 
and  [they]  were  thus  shot  on  the  spot,  all  those  we  killed 
were  fleshy  but  none  fat,  but  we  were  most  thankful  for  this 
plentiful  supply.  On  examining  the  head  of  the  Moose,  the 
brain  was  found  to  lie  wholly  between  the  lower  part  of  the 
eyes  and  the  upper  gristle  of  the  nose ;  in  a  narrow  cavity 
the  brain  of  a  three  year  old  Doe  Moose,  measured  half  a  pint, 
full  measure,  and  I  estimated  the  brain  to  be  the  one,  seven 
hundred  [th]  part  of  the  full  weight  of  the  deer,  the  nostrils 
seemed  to  communicate  direct  with  the  brain,  and  as  this 
Deer  always  feeds  in  thickets,  that  allow  no  range  of  sight, 
Providence  has  admirably  formed  his  sense  of  hearing  and 
smell  for  self  preservation. 

From  the  mildness  of  the  climate  we  had  hopes  of  finding 
part  of  the  banks  of  the  River  with  very  little  snow,  but  we 
found  the  snow  deep,  and  very  firm,  the  River  open  and  only 
a  chance  bridge  of  ice  and  snow  across  it ;  as  in  all  appearance 
we  had  to  stay  about  three  months  we  agreed  to  build  a  Hut 
and  make  it  a  shelter  from  the  weather  which  we  effected  by 
the  twelfth  of  February ;  and  were  thus  protected  from  the 
many  showers  of  wet  snow  and  rain,  and  enabled  to  dry  our 
clothes. 

On  the  1 7'^  two  men  ^  whom  I  had  sent  across  the  Moun- 
tains returned  with  two  sled  loads  of  Goods  and  dried  pro- 
visions, and  a  Nahathaway  Indian,  by  name  the  "  Yellow 
Bird  "  to  hunt  for  us ;  our  hunting  grounds  are  the  Canoe 
River  and  it's  branches,  the  Snow  is  ]?nuch  wasted,  and  in  this 
fine  valley  the  Moose  Deer  can  move  freely  about. 

^  Thompson  refers  to  the  whole  Selkirk  range  as  Mount  Nelson.  He 
is  here  at  the  northern  end  of  the  range.     [T.  C.  E.] 

*  Thompson  gives  in  his  notes  the  names  of  three  men,  besides  the 
Indian,  namely,  Pareil,  Cote,  and  Villiard, 


454      DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

On  the  19*''  a  day  of  heavy  snow  which  again  is  three  feet 
in  depth,  and  so  wet  that  we  cannot  use  our  Snow  Shoes. 
The  snow  on  the  trees  pouring  down  Hke  heavy  rain. 

On  the  22"^^  at  7  am  Ther  +32  at  2  pm  +42  at  9  pm  +31 
Wind  SSW.  The  Thermometer  is  placed  in  a  box  on  the 
north  side  of  a  large  tree,  five  feet  above  the  Snow,  if  another 
was  placed  forty,  or  more  feet  above  the  Snow,  clear  of  it's 
effects,  I  have  no  doubt  the  Thermometer  would  be  full  five 
degrees  higher,  as  the  Snow  on  the  higher  part  of  the  Trees 
thaws  quicker  than  that  on  the  lower  branches.  Sent  two 
Men  with  Letters  to  cross  the  Mountains,  the  netting  of  the 
fore,  and  hind,  parts  of  the  Snow  Shoes  are  cut  out,  and  only 
the  middle  remains  which  is  quite  enough  in  the  present  state 
of  the  Snow. 

On  the  first  day  of  March,  the  Men  I  sent  with  Letters 
to  cross  the  Mountains  returned,  having  found  the  Snow  too 
deep  and  wet ;  the  Hunter  has  found  several  places  where 
the  Wolves  ^  have  destroyed  the  Moose  Deer,  where  shut  up 
in  the  deep  snow.  A  bald  headed  Eagle,^  a  Rook,'  and  many 
small  Birds  about  us.  Having  now  examined  the  White 
Birch  *  in  every  quarter,  for  Birch  Rind  wherewith  to  make  a 
Canoe  for  our  voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  without  finding 
any  even  thick  enough  to  make  a  dish  ;  such  is  the  influence 
of  a  mild  climate  on  the  rind  of  the  Birch  Tree.  We  had  to 
turn  our  thoughts  to  some  other  material,  and  Cedar  wood 
being  the  lightest  and  most  pliable  for  a  Canoe,  we  split  out 
thin  boards  of  Cedar  wood  of  about  six  inches  in  breadth 
and  builded  a  Canoe  of  twenty  five  feet  in  length  by  fifty 
inches  in  breadth,  of  the  same  form  of  a  common  Canoe, 
using  cedar  boards  instead  of  Birch  Rind,  which  proved  to  be 
equally  light  and  much  stronger  than  Birch  Rind,  the  greatest 

1  Canis  occidentalis  Richardson.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Halicsetus  leucocephalus  alascanus  Townsend.     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  Probably  Western  Crow,  Corvus  b.  hesperis  (Ridgway).     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Probably  Betula  fontinalis  Sargent.     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEY   TO    ILTHKOYAPE    FALLS     455 

difficulty  we  had  was  sewing  the  boards  to  each  round  the 
timbers.  As  we  had  no  nails  we  had  to  make  use  of  the  fine 
Roots  of  the  Pine  which  we  spHt ; 

On  the  1 6'^  April  we  had  finished  the  Canoe  ^  and  got  all 
ready  for  our  voyage.  We  have  killed  seventeen  Moose  Deer 
but  a  part  of  the  meat  was  lost  in  not  being  able  to  bring  it 
to  the  Hut,  and  some  being  killed  among  steep  rocks  from 
whence  we  could  not  get  the  meat ;  all  the  Skins  were  use- 
less, there  being  no  woman  to  dress  them  so  that  all  the 
Provisions  we  had  procured  for  the  voyage  was  only  220 
pounds  weight.  Although  a  very  great  quantity  of  snow 
had  thawed,  yet  the  many  heavy  showers  of  Snow  kept  it  to 
the  same  depth,  and  the  River  had  still  the  same  appearance 
as  when  we  first  saw  it  in  January ;  the  River  about  two 
hundred  yards  in  width  running  clear,  with  steep  banks  of 
snow  on  each  [side]  of  about  three  and  a  half  feet ;  which  had 
a  most  dreary  appearance  ;  Our  voyage  to  the  Sea  was  to 
proceed  down  the  River,  but  having  only  three  men,  (Pierre 
Pareille,  Joseph  Cote,  and  Rene  Valade)  being  the  only  Men 
that  had  the  courage  to  risque  the  chances  of  the  Voyage, 
we  were  too  weak  to  make  our  way  through  the  numerous 
Indians  we  had  to  pass ;  so  few  men  would  be  a  temptation 
to  some  of  them  to  take  from  us  what  Httle  we  had ;  while 
twice  this  number  well  armed  would  command  respect ;  in 
order  to  augment  my  number  of  men  I  had  to  proceed  up 
the  River  and  to  the  Saleesh  Country  to  where  I  knew  I 
should  find  the  free  Hunters,  and  engage  some  of  them  to 
accompany  me,  this  gave  us  a  long  journey  of  hardship  and 
much  suffering,  but  by  the  mercy  of  good  Providence  ensured 
the  success  of  the  voyage. 

On  the  if^  April  we  embarked  our  Provisions  and  Baggage 
with  our  Snow  Shoes,  and  proceeded  up  the  River.''     We  found 

^  The  canoe  was  clinker-built,  twenty-five  feet  long,  forty-two  inches 
wide,  and  sharp  at  both  ends  ;  the  boards  were  not  nailed,  but  sewn 
together. 

*  After   having  spent  three  months   in  the  deep  snow  on  the  banks 


456      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

the  Current  very  strong  with  many  pieces  of  Rapids,  which 
we  ascended  with  the  Pole  and  tracking  Line,  seven  of  these 
Rapids  were  so  strong  that  two  of  us  had  to  walk  in  the 
water  with  the  Canoe,  while  the  other  two  Men  on  snow 
shoes  tracked  it  up  by  a  line  ;  at  sunset  we  found  a  few  bare 
stone  in  the  mouth  of  a  Brook  on  which  we  sat  down  all  night, 
having  come  nine  miles. 

On  the  1 8'^,  cold  and  benumbed  we  set  off,  but  the  Rapids 
were  so  strong  we  advanced  only  five  miles  and  camped  on  the 
Snow,  but  made  a  fire  on  large  logs  of  cedar. 

April  19'^.  We  proceeded  five  miles  of  strong  rapids,  in 
places  we  had  to  carr}^  the  cargo,  such  as  it  was,  to  where  the 
River  expanded  to  a  small  Lake  which  was  frozen  over,^  and 
we  had  to  camp,  we  anxiously  wished  to  clear  away  the  snow 
to  the  ground  ;  but  foimd  it  five  and  a  half  feet  deep,  and 
were  obliged  to  put  up  with  a  fire  on  logs  and  sit  on  the 
snow. 

On  the  26'"^  v.e  had  hauled  and  carried  the  Canoe  and 
Baggage  to  the  River,  where  having  come  seven  miles,  we 
camped  on  the  snow  ;  during  this  time  we  had  killed  two 
Swans, 2  the  female  had  twelve  small  eggs,  yet  I  have  never 
found  more  than  five  eggs  in  their  Xests,  nor  have  I  seen 
more  than  seven  young  ones  with  them. 

On  the  27^^  hzviag  gone  five  miles,  we  found  the  River 
\^ith  too  much  ice  to  allow  us  to  proceed,-  and  we  had  to 
wait  ■v%ith  patience  on  our  beds  of  snow  for  the  ice  to  clear 
away  ;   hitherto  the  Forests  were  of  the  ordinary  size  of  three 

of  the  Coltunbia  river,  the  little  party  set  ofi  up  the  river  to  the  country 
where  they  were  kno^ii,  and  could  depend  on  getting  assistance  in  both 
their  trading  and  exploring  enterprises.  They  had  with  them  three 
pieces  of  goods  and  235  lbs.  of  pro\-isions. 

^  This  was  Kinbasket  lake.  As  the  ioe  was  still  firm  on  it,  they 
were  delayed  from  April  19  to  April  26,  and  were  at  last  obliged  to  make 
sleds  and  "  -  "      *  over  the  ioe  to  *'  water  of  the  river  above 

the  lake. 

*  Trumpeter  S.  ./i/itcrr  CRicohuQi^jUj.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Here  they  we  -     ^  -p  by  the  ice  for  six  days. 


.TOrKNKY     rO    ILTHKOVArK    FALLS     4:>7 

to  twelve  feet  girth,  of  Ceviar,  Pines,  Birch,  Aspius,  Alders  and 
Willows  ;  hunting  procured  .i  few  Geese  and  Ducks,  but 
not  suthcient  to  niaint.un  us,  and  we  lud  to  t.ike  some  of  our 
dried  provisions. 

On  the  third  of  May  we  prov^eeded  a  short  distance,  and 
on  the  fourth  met  a  Canoe  with  two  Nepissing  Indians  (their 
countrv  is  near  Montreal  in  Canada"^  and  the  next  da\  the 
Grand  Nepissing  and  three  Iroquois  Indiatis,  thcN  .ue  all  on 
their  wav  to  the  WiUcn  ot  the  Caitoe  River  to  trap  Beaver, 
and  hunt  AKx-ise  Deer;  three  ot  these  1  engaged  to  assist  in 
the  Canoes  and  hunt  tor  my  Men,  and  by  thent  wrote  lo 
M""  William  lienrv  who  is  ii\  charge  of  the  Men  ai\d  iioods  ; 
and  engaged  Charles  a  hue,  steadv  Iroquois  to  acCiM\\pan\  us 
as  Bowsman,  beiiig  an  excellent  Caitoe  Man;  We  passed  a 
large  \'alle\'  bearing  N  70''  K.  having  a  tine  navigable  Rivi^- ' 
for  twentN-  miles,  being  the  junctii>n  ot  three  branches  ;  we 
camped  as  usual  on  the  sitow,  our  legs  and  leet  beuuinbcvl 
walking  the  Canoe  up  a  strong  Rapids,  and  when  on  shore 
with  wet  feet  and  shoes  walking  on  Snow  Shoes.  The  Cuand 
Nepissing  tells  me  that  for  these  three  vears  past  ite  has  killed, 
one  \  ear  at  the  little  Lake  below  us  two  hundred  Heavers, 
at  a  place  above  five  hundred  Heavers,  and  at  the  C.moe  River 
five  hundred  Beavers,  without  any  other  labi>r  th.ut  setting  l\is 
steel  traps  with  theCastorum  of  the  lk\jver,  as  betore  described, 
such  is  the  infatu.it ion  ot  this  Anim.il  iov  C.\^[ovu\u. 

May  7"'.  As  we  proceeded  the  coimtry  became  more 
open,  the  Rapids  not  st>  frequent  nor  so  strong,  wi-  kilicil 
one  Swan,  three  Geese  and  a  'Teal  Duck  but  siuic  we  hit 
our  Hut  have  not  seen  die  tr.uk  ot  .1  Deer  o\  .my  *>(her 
Animal. 

May  8'"'.  We  had  many  strong  Raj-iids  .md  in  tlu^  evening 
came  to  a  Hut  we  had  built  on  the  ixmks  ol  this  RivcM,"  at 
the  st)rtie  oi  the  defiles  oi  the  ^^)unl.lins  b\'  (he  Saskatciu"w.n\ 
River,    the    distance  between    them    lu-ing    imc  huiuhi\l   .uul 

'    l'ri)I>.il)l\    ImisIi  rivrr.  "    l>l.icl)ci  1  v  Cu-tU 


458      DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

twenty  miles,  this  was  our  usual  route  from  the  east  side  to 
the  west  side  of  the  Mountains  :  there  are  now  many  fowl 
but  we  killed  only  one  Goose. 

May  9'^.  Proceeding  up  the  River  at  length  we  had  the 
pleasure  of  camping  on  ground  clear  of  snow,  but  the  Moun- 
tains have  all  the  appearance  of  winter,  and  we  are  not  Hkely 
to  have  much  more  snow,  as  Mount  Nelson  now  shelters  us 
from  the  heavy  Snow  Showers  of  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  saw 
with  pleasure  the  tracks  of  two  Red  Deer. 

On  the  14'^  we  came  to  the  head  of  the  Columbia  River 
268  miles  from  our  winter  Hut.  I  could  never  pass  this 
singular  place  without  admiring  it's  situation,  and  romantic 
bold  scenery  which  I  have  already  described  ;  other  Rivers 
have  their  scources  so  ramified  in  Rills  and  Brooks  that  it  is 
not  easy  to  determine  the  parent  stream,  this  is  not  the  case 
with  Columbia  River,  near  the  foot  of  a  steep  secondary 
mountain,  surrounded  by  a  fine  grassy  Plain,  lies  it's  scource, 
in  a  fine  Lake  of  about  eleven  square  miles  of  area,  from 
which  issues  it's  wild  rapid  Stream,  yet  navigable  to  the  sea, 
it's  descent  is  great.  By  a  close  estimation  it's  head  is  5960  feet  ^ 
above  the  level  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  it's  length  1348  miles, 
and  it  drains  an  area  of  Country  of  319,083  square  miles,  it's 
descent  is  an  average  of  four  feet  six  inches  p'  mile,  including 
it's  Falls,  except  the  lower  part  of  the  River,  every  inch  may 
be  said  to  be  of  rapid  current.  From  the  head  Lake  to 
M*^Gillivray's  River  is  a  carrying  place  of  two  miles  over  a 
level  plain,^  this  River  comes  from  the  centre  of  the  primitive 

^  The  correct  elevation  is  2,700  feet. 

^  This  is  now  known  as  Canal  Flat,  but  was  called  by  Thompson 
"  McGillivray's  Portage  " — that  is,  portage  to  McGillivray's  river.  Here 
Thompson  met  two  Indians  who  had  just  come  from  the  Tobacco  Plains, 
where  they  had  left  most  of  the  Kutenai  and  all  the  freemen  going 
to  the  Salish  country.  "  They  tell  me,"  he  says  in  his  notes,  "  the 
H.  B.  are  in  the  lake,  just  arrived  from  their  winter  quarters."  This,  the 
only  mention  Thompson  makes  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  people  in  his  notes 
of  this  year,  refers  to  Joseph  Howse  and  his  men,  who  had  spent  the  winter 
near  Flathead  lake,  about  where  Kalispell,  Montana,  now  stands. 


JOURNEY   TO   ILTHKOYAPE   FALLS     459 

Mountains  with  a  rapid  stream  throughout  it's  whole  course 
it  is  a  deep  volume  of  water  of  about  150  yards  in  breadth. 
(Note.  May  9*^  Kootanae  Lake  ;  there  are  many  Cormorants/ 
we  killed  one,  they  are  very  fishy  tasted  and  their  eggs  almost 
as  bad  as  those  of  a  Loon  ;  it's  eyes  a  fine  bright  green  the 
eye  ball  a  deep  black,  the  eye  lids  and  about  them  a  light 
light  blue,  the  head  and  neck  of  a  glossy  black,  with  a  bunch 
of  feathers  on  each  side  of  the  back  of  the  head.)  We 
descended  this  River  for  about  two  hundred  and  forty  miles 
to  a  Path  that  leads  to  the  Saleesh  River.  In  this  distance  the 
scenery  is  very  varied  ;  well  wooded  banks,  rude  steep  rocks, 
fine  Meadows  for  several  miles,  then  closing  to  sixty  yards  of 
Basalt  Rocks,  again  expending  to  350  yards ;  the  current 
always  strong  and  frequently  dangerous  from  eddies  and 
whirlpools,  yet  only  one  carrying  place  at  a  dangerous  Dalle, 
of  three  fourths  of  a  mile  ;  we  procured  only  one  Red  Deer 
by  hunting,  and  both  the  Columbia  and  this  River  [afford] 
no  fish,  the  current  is  too  rapid,  and  the  shores  and  bottom 
too  hard  ; 

On  the  19""  in  the  morning  we  came  to  the  path  ^  that 
leads  to  the  Saleesh  River,  here  was  fortunately  a  Tent  of 
Kootanae  Indians  who  informed  us  the  great  camp  has  moved 
from  this  place  only  three  days  ago,  and  that  we  should  find 
them  on  our  road  ;  I  directly  sent  off  two  men  ^  to  follow 
after  them  and  procure  Horses  to  carry  the  Goods  we  had 
to  the  Saleesh  River  ;  as  we  could  proceed  no  farther  by 
water,  we  laid  up  our  Canoe  in  safety  for  future  use,  and 
arranged  everything  to  be  taken  by  Horses  ;  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  next  day,  the  two  men  returned  with  four  Kootanae 
Indians  and   seven  Horses  ;    with  their  furniture  of  saddles, 

1  Phalacrocorax  auritus  (Lesson).     [E.  A.  P.] 

^  This  was  near  what  is  now  the  site  of  Jennings,  Montana.  From 
here  they  portaged  south  across  country  to  the  Clark's  Fork  river,  some- 
where above  Thompson's  Falls  ;  there  they  built  another  canoe,  and  de- 
scended that  river.     [T.  C.  E.] 

'  Charles  and  Pared. 


460     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

lines  and  saddle  cloth  of  the  Bison  hides,  we  went  two  miles 
and  put  up  at  sun  set  :  the  next  day,  having  gone  five 
miles  we  came  to  the  camp  of  the  Kootanaes,  and  traded  five 
Horses  with  their  furniture  and  twenty  dressed  leather  skins 
of  the  Red  Deer  ;  for  shoes  and  clothing,  which  was  mostly- 
paid  for  in  Tobacco  and  Ammunition  :  Ignace  an  Iroquois 
Indian  was  in  this  Camp.  I  engaged  him  as  Steersman  for 
the  voyage  before  us,  with  a  Kootanae  as  Guide  and  Hunter 
we  proceeded,  and  on  the  zy'*"  came  to  the  Saleesh  River,  a 
distance  of  seventy  four  miles  across  the  country ;  and  as 
usual  had  several  bold  Brooks  to  cross,  over  which  we  had  to 
feU  large  trees  for  Bridges,  and  carry  every  things,  with 
mishaps  incident  to  such  narrow  bridges ;  at  the  last  of 
the[m]  Ignace  carrying  two  rolls  of  Tobacco,  preferred  wading 
across  the  Brook  to  passing  on  a  single  tree,  when  almost 
across  he  stumbled ;  the  rolls  of  Tobacco  fell  (each  seventy 
pounds)  and  were  swept  away  by  the  torrent ;  we  had  to 
make  a  small  raft  and  search  for  them,  fortunately  the  River 
was  very  high  and  stopped  the  current,  here  we  found  them, 
and  carried  them  back.  Our  Hunter  had  killed  only  three 
antelopes  ^  and  those  amongst  Craigs  [so]  that  we  got  but  little 
of  the  meat  and  we  had  to  kill  two  Horses  for  food,  and  then 
a  fine  Mare.  We  went  to  the  Saleesh  House  in  hopes  of 
seeing  M'  Finan  McDonald,  and  those  with  him,  but  saw 
neither  him  nor  a  Letter.  We  had  now  to  build  a  Canoe 
and  proceed  down  this  River  to  the  Path  that  leads  to  the 
Columbia  River ;  we  had  to  look  for  white  Cedar  ;  which 
having  found,  we  spHt  out  Boards,  but  the  fire  having  injured 
the  bark,  the  wood  was  brittle  and  could  not  be  bent  to  the 
required  shape  and  we  had  to  look  for  a  tree  uninjured  by 
fire  ;  of  which  we  made  our  Canoe,  and  finished  it  on  the 
5"*  of  June,  on  the  banks  of  a  small  River,  where  the  Indians 
had  a  Weir  for  fish  ;  on  aU  the  Streams  that  come  from,  or 
form  Lake,  there  are  Weirs  at  which  the  Natives  catch 
*  Probably  Odocoileus  hemionus  (Rafinesque).     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEY   TO    ILTHKOYAPE   FALLS     461 

Mullets,  gray  Carp,^,  and  small  Trout  ;    the  gray  Carp  is  a 
tolerable  good  [fish],   much  like  the   red  Carp   of  Canada  ; 
but   all  the   Streams   that  have  no  Lake  are  without  fish  : 
having  killed  a  fifth  Horse  to  take  with  us,  we  embarked  and 
were  soon  in  the  Saleesh  River  ;    but  how  very  different  from 
what  it  was  in  the  Autumn  of  1809.     Then  it  had  a  gentle 
current  of  350  to  500  yards  in  width  in  places  bordered  by 
fine  Forests,  in  other  places  by  rich  Meadows  of  considerable 
extent,  with  plenty  of  Swans,  Geese,  Ducks  and  Plover ;    all 
the  time  we  have  been  here  the  water  has  been  rising  at  the 
rate  of  two  feet  each  day,  the  River  now  presented  a  great 
width  agitated  by  eddies  and  whirlpools,  it's  apparent  height 
above  the  level  of  Autumn  was  about  thirty  feet,  rushing 
through  the  woods  in  a  fearful  manner,  every  Island  was  a 
dangerous  Fall,  and  [had  a]  strong  eddy  at  the  lower  end ; 
we  saw  the  risque  before  us,   but  we  were  all  experienced 
men  and  kept  the  waves  of  the  middle  of  the  River,  one  place 
appeared  so  formidable  that  we  put  ashore,  and  carried  every- 
thing for  two  and  a  half  hours  :    we  continued  under  the 
mercy  of  the  Almighty  and  at  sunset  put  up  ;    each  of  us 
thankful  for  our  preservation  ;   as  the  morrow  did  not  promise 
anything  better,  and  necessity  urged  us  on,  my  poor  fellows, 
before  laying  down  said  their  prayers,  crossed  themselves,  and 
promised  a  Mass  to  be  said  for  each,  by  the  first  Priest  they 
should  see. 

The  Country  was  inundated  to  the  foot  of  the  Hills,  and 
to  the  Hills  all  the  Antelopes  had  retired,  so  that  we  could 
procure  nothing  by  hunting  and  had  to  live  on  Horse  Meat  : 
and  meeting  with  a  Tent  of  Indians  we  traded  an  old  Horse 
for  meat  to  live  on.  On  the  8'*"  June  we  arrived  at  the 
Long  Carrying  Place  that  leads  across  the  country  to  the 
Ilthkoyape  Falls  of  the  Columbia  River  by  way  of  the  Spokane 
River.  A  small  camp  of  Kullyspell  Indians  being  near  I  hired 
two  of  them  to  go  to  the  Spokane  House  on  this  River,  and 

1  Suckers,  probably  species  of  Catostomus.     [E.  A.  P.] 


462      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

inform  M'^  Finan  M"'Donald  who  is  there  to  come  to  us  and 
bring  Horses  to  convey  our  Goods  and  Baggage  to  his  place ; 
in  the  meantime  I  conversed  with  these  Indians  on  their 
forms  and  proceedings  on  going  to  War.  As  I  saw  some  of 
them  with  white  earth  on  their  heads,  which  is  the  first  step  ; 
I  found  them  in  all  this  to  differ  very  Httle  from  the  Indians 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains ;  those  who  attempt  to 
get  up  a  War  Party,  begin  quietly  to  put  white  earth  on  their 
heads,  upon  doing  of  which  each  morning  and  evening  they 
pretend  to  cry  for  a  short  time,  naming  their  Relations  and 
friends  who  have  fallen  in  battle  ;  if  the  Tribe  is  inclined  to 
war,  this  number  will  augment,  until  they  find  themselves 
strong  enough  to  make  the  Chief  call  a  council :  if  the  Tribe 
is  not  inclined  to  war  ;  after  a  few  days  the  white  earth  is 
no  longer  made  use  of.  When  the  Chief  calls  a  council, 
which  is  generally  composed  of  all  the  steady  Men  from  about 
twenty  five  years  and  upwards,  the  affair  is  coolly  discussed, 
and  the  subject  is  mostly  of  their  Men  who  have  been  slain 
by  their  enemies,  and  too  often  with  their  wives  and  children, 
with  encroachments  on  their  hunting  grounds ;  or  a  desire 
to  enlarge  them  :  if  War  is  resolved  on,  the  first  step  is  to 
send  two  Men  who  can  speak  well,  to  the  next  friendly 
Tribe,  to  discourse  with  the  Chief  and  the  old  Men  on  the 
subject,  in  which  care  is  taken  not  to  mention  the  resolution 
taken,  but  the  discourse  to  be  on  the  injuries  they  have 
received  ;  and  that  if  they  wish  to  revenge  them  their  Tribe 
will  be  confederate  with  them.  If  this  offer  is  approved,  the 
Chief  calls  a  Council.  And  if  it  is  not  approved  by  the  Tribe, 
although  as  a  Tribe  they  take  no  part  in  it,  yet  as  many 
Warriors  as  please  may  march  to  the  assistance  of  the  War 
Tribe,  and  thus  all  the  friendly  Tribes  are  solicited,  and 
those  who  do  not  declare  for  the  War  Tribe  send  many 
Warriors  to  assist  them.  The  Tribes  that  join  form  but  one 
Council,  and  elect  a  leading  Chief  of  tried  conduct  and 
experience ;      the    intended    expedition    is    now    calmly    dis- 


JOURNEY   TO    ILTHKOYAPE   FALLS     463 

cussed  ;  the  number  of  their  men  and  their  leaders,  of  their 
Guns  and  Ammunition  and  iron  headed  Arrows  and  Spears ; 
if  this  is  not  satisfactory,  the  change  is  made  to  Horse  steaUng, 
but  if  otherwise,  the  Hne  of  March  is  now  determined  ;  and 
they  proceed  ;  there  is  one  pecuharity  with  these  Natives 
which  is  but  seldom  done  with  the  Indians  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Mountains,  a  Vow  to  shed  blood  before  they  return, 
which  often  places  them  at  a  loss  how  to  act ;  if  they  find  no 
enemies,  which  sometimes  happens,  as  blood  must  be  shed 
when  they  commence  their  return,  the  Chiefs  hold  a  Council, 
when  some  friendless  young  man  is  killed  ;  or  a  small  part  of 
his  scalp  is  cut  away,  but  if  there  is  no  person  with  them  on 
whom  this  may  be  safely  done,  two  of  the  principal  Chiefs 
cut  their  arms  to  make  the  blood  flow,  with  which  they 
mark  a  Tree  to  apprise  their  enemies  how  far  they  have 
been  in  search  of  them,  with  strange  figures  denoting  defiance. 
Since  the  introduction  of  fire  arms,  their  battles  are  decided 
more  by  their  effects,  than  the  number  of  Men  ;  a  very  old 
Indian  told  me,  when  a  young  man  he  made  a  heavy  war 
club,  with  which  he  felt  himself  confident  of  victory,  they 
formed  a  very  large  party  against  the  Peeagans,  and  hoped 
for  success,  when  for  the  first  time  their  enemies  had  two 
Guns  and  every  shot  killed  a  Man,  we  could  not  stand  this, 
and  thought  they  brought  bad  spirits  with  [them],  we  all 
fled  and  hid  ourselves  in  the  Mountains,  we  were  not  allowed 
to  remain  quiet,  and  constant  war  parties  now  harassed  us, 
destroyed  the  Men,  Women  and  Children  of  our  Camps  and 
took  away  our  Horses  and  Mules,  for  we  had  no  defence 
until  you  crossed  the  Mountains  and  brought  us  fire  arms, 
now  we  no  longer  hide  ourselves  but  have  regained  much  of 
our  coimtry,  hunt  the  Bisons  for  food  and  clothing,  and  have 
good  leather  Tents. 

June  iz'*".  M"^  Finan  McDonald  and  the  Men  arrived 
with  thirteen  Horses  to  carry  aU  we  have  to  the  Columbia 
River. 


464      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

June  13'^.  We  came  to  seven  tents  of  Kullyspel  Indians,^ 
as  the  Antelopes  have  all  gone  to  the  high  hills,  the  Natives 
are  obliged  to  make  ul^rs  for  fish,  mostly  Mullets  and  gray 
Carp  and  thus  wait  the  arrival  of  the  Salmon  from  the  Sea 
now  daily  expected  ;  they  gave  us  a  few  Carp,  very  acceptable 
as  our  Horse  meat  is  done  ; 

On  the  evening  of  the  14'^  we  arrived  at  the  Spokane 
House  ^  on  the  River  of  that  name,  where  I  left  a  small  assort- 

^  This  was  on  the  "  Skeetshoo  River  House  rivulet,"  the  Little  Spokane 
river  of  to-day.     [T.  C.  E.] 

2  Spokane  House  was  built  in  1810  or  181 1  by  Finan  McDonald  or 
Jaco  Finlay,  at  the  junction  of  the  Spokane  and  Little  Spokane  rivers, 
ten  miles  north-west  of  the  city  of  Spokane,  State  of  Washington.  From 
this  text  and  his  map,  it  is  clear  that  Thompson  intended  the  name 
Skeetshoo  to  apply  to  the  lake  (Coeur  d'Aldne)  and  river  flowing  from  it 
as  far  as  this  junction,  and  the  name  Spokane  to  apply  to  the  stream 
into  which  it  emptied  ;  see  entry  of  July  3,  infra.  The  peninsula  at 
this  confluence  is  a  beautiful,  protected  flat,  triangular  in  shape,  and  was 
always  a  favourite  gathering-place  for  the  Indians  to  catch  and  dry  fish. 
Alexander  Henry  first  recorded  the  name  Spokane,  and  described  this 
river,  and  the  Spokane  and  Simpoil  Indians  as  residing  upon  it  (see 
Coues,  New  Light,  pp.  711-12).  A  local  Indian  name  for  the  river 
is  Sen-a-hom-a-na,  meaning  "  river  of  salmon  trout."  Henry  cites 
Speh-kun-ne  as  the  Salish  or  Flathead  word  meaning  both  "  sun  "  and 
"  moon,"  a  fact  which  affords  some  earlier  authority  for  the  usuallj' 
accepted  meaning  of  that  word,  namely,  "  children  of  the  sun  "  (see 
Ross  Cox,  Adventures,  p.  104)  ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  Spokane 
was  merely  the  Indian  name  for  this  peninsula,  or  fishing-place.  Alexander 
Henry,  never  having  been  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  himself  at  the 
time,  must  have  taken  his  very  complete  data  from  David  Thompson, 
or  from  clerks  of  the  Company. 

Spokane  House  became  the  principal  distributing  and  wintering  point 
of  the  North- West  Company  for  the  Upper  Columbia,  Kootenay,  and 
Flathead  trade,  and  was  continued  by  their  successors,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  until  April,  1826,  when  it  was  formally  abandoned  in  favour 
of  the  new  establishment  at  Kettle  Falls  (Fort  Col  vile),  built  under 
orders  from  Governor  Simpson.  In  August,  1812,  the  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany under  the  leadership  of  John  Clarke,  from  Astoria,  built  a  rival 
house  or  fort  upon  this  peninsula,  but  this  became  the  property  of  the 
North-West  Company  by  their  purchase  at  Astoria  in  October,  181 3. 
All  goods  for  Spokane  House  were  transported  at  first  from  Fort  William 
on  Lake  Superior  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  later  from  Astoria 
or  Fort  George  in  batteaux  up  the  Columbia  liver  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Spokane,  and  thence  across  country  on  horses  about   sixty  miles,  the 


JOURNEY   TO    ILTHKOYAPE   FALLS     465 

ment  of  Goods  to  continue  the  trade ;  there  were  forty- 
Tents  of  Spokane  Indians,  with  Jaco,  a  half  breed,  as  Clerk. 
We  remained  here  two  days ;  I  observed  for  Latituae 
47°.  47'.  4"  N.  Longitude  117°.  27'.  ii"  W.  Variation 
21  degrees  East.  On  conversing  with  the  Natives  I  learned 
they  were  preparing  to  form  a  large  War  Party,  in  company 
with  the  Kullyspel  and  Shawpatin  Indians,  against  the 
Teekanoggin  Indians,^  a  defenceless  Tribe  to  the  southwest- 
ward  of  us ;  I  was  very  sorry  to  find  that  all  I  could  say,  or 
preach  to  them  against  warring  on  defenceless  Natives  was 
of  no  avail.  Proud  of  their  Guns  and  iron  shod  arrows,  they 
were  anxious  to  try  these  arms  in  battle.  As  I  could  not 
break  up  the  War  Party,  which  was  at  some  distance  from 
me,  my  endeavour  was  to  change  it's  direction  ;  accordingly 
I  made  up  a  small  present  of  Tobacco  and  Vermillion  for 
each  of  the  Chiefs,  which  I  sent  by  two  respectable  Spokane 
Indians,  with  a  Speech,  reminding  them  of  the  defenceless 
state  in  which  three  winters  ago  I  found  them,  hiding  them- 
selves from  their  enemies,  living  on  roots  and  fish,  in  the 
same  state  in  which  the  poor  Teekanoggans  now  were,  and 
whom  I  should  soon  visit  and  let  them  have  guns  and  iron 
heads  for  their  arrows,  that  if  they  were  the  brave  men  they 
pretended  to  be,  they  would  go  against  the  Peeagans,  and  their 
aUies  who  had  destroyed  very  many  of  them  :  this  had  the 
effect  of  about  fifty  warriors  marching  to  the  assistance  of 

Spokane  river  being  entirely  unnavigable.  For  interesting  accounts  of 
Spokane  House  consult  Ross  Cox,  Alexander  Ross,  Gabriel  Franch6re, 
and  Washington  Irving.  David  Douglas,  botanist  from  London,  in  his 
journal  on  May  9,  1826,  writes  :  "I  set  out  across  the  mountains  [from 
Kettle  Falls]  for  the  abandoned  establishment  at  Spokane,  distant  about 
one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  My  object  was  to  see  Mr.  Jaques  Raphael 
Finley,  a  Canadian  Sauteur,  now  resident  here."  This  was  Thompson's 
"  Jaco  Finlay."  The  old  chimney  bottoms  of  Spokane  House  are  still 
visible  (191 2).     [T.  C.  E.] 

1  The  Okinagan  Indians.  This  name  has  always  perplexed  white 
men.  Thompson  in  his  notes  spells  it  Oachenawawgan,  and  on  his 
map  Ookenawkane.     [T.  C.  E.] 

2   G 


466     DAVID   THOMPSON'S    NARRATIVE 

the  Saleesh  and  Kootanae  Indians  who  were  encamped  against 
the  Peeagans  and  their  allies,  and  the  others  went  to  the 
Columbia  for  the  Salmon  fishery. 

June  iS'*".  Our  path  as  usual  lay  across  several  Brooks,^ 
with  the  labor  of  making  bridges  of  trees  over  those  we  could 
not  ford,  and  I  noticed  a  great  change  in  the  soil  which 
hitherto  has  been  a  light  sandy  loam,  today  a  fine  vegetable 
mould  on  a  rich  clayey  loam  very  fit  for  agriculture.  On  the 
afternoon  of  the  19*''  June,  thank  God,  we  arrived  safe  at 
the  Ilthkoyape  Falls  ^  of  the  Columbia  River ; 

*  Thompson  travelled  the  regular  Indian  trail  north  through  the  valley 
of  the  Colville  river  to  Kettle  Falls.     [T.  C.  E.] 

'  Kettle  Falls  of  to-day,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  romantic  points 
on  the  Columbia  river.  The  falls  are  double,  a  few  hundred  yards  apart, 
not  high,  but  magnificent  in  the  sweep  and  swirl  of  the  water.  They  are 
forty-one  miles  south  of  the  Canadian  boundary,  and  practically  half- 
way from  the  source  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  portage  around  the 
falls  was  on  the  east  bank  ;  and  the  spot  where  Thompson  probably 
camped  and  built  his  canoe  was  on  the  Bushnell  Flat,  one  mile  below  the 
falls  on  the  east  bank.  Ilthkoyape  is  strictly  a  Thompsonian  designation  ; 
it  is  used  by  no  one  else  except  Daniel  Harmon,  and  by  him  only  in  quoting 
a  letter  from  David  Thompson.  Ross  Cox,  Alexander  Ross,  and  Gabriel 
FranchSre  called  the  falls  La  Chaudi6re,  because  of  the  boiling  appearance 
of  the  water.  The  meaning  of  the  name  Ilthkoyape  has  been  satisfactorily 
explained  by  Mr.  Jacob  A.  Meyers,  who  lives  near  Kettle  Falls.  It  is 
derived  from  Ilih-kape,  the  Salish  word  for  "  kettle  "  (a  basket  vessel  of 
woven  osiers,  roots,  and  hard-twisted  cords),  and  Hoy-ape,  the  Salish 
word  for  "  trap  "  or  "  net  "  (see  the  Salish  vocabulary  in  Coues,  New 
Light,  pp.  714-15)  ;  and  it  was  used  to  describe  the  place  where  the 
Indians  fished  with  the  kettle  or  basket  net.  The  Indians  living  on 
the  upper  Okanagan  river  still  use  a  word  that  sounds  like  Ilkopt  or 
Tlkohopit  when  speaking  of  the  Kettle  river  or  the  Kettle  Falls.  On  the 
early  maps  of  Arrowsmith  the  name  Sayalpee  is  found  immediately 
above  the  falls.     [T.  C.  E.] 


CHAPTER    VIII 

ILTHKOYAPE   INDIANS  ^ 

Village  of  Ilthkoyafe  Indians — Appearance — Habits  of  salmon 
fishing — Search  for  cedar  to  make  a  canoe — Precautions 
necessary  in  salmon  fishing — Habits  of  the  salmon — Canoe 
finished. 

HERE  for  the  country,  was  a  considerable  Village  of 
the  Natives  who  have  given  their  name  to  these 
Falls ;  which  are  about  ten  feet  of  descent  in  a 
steep  slope,  in  places  broken  ;  This  Village  is  built  of  long 
sheds  of  about  twenty  feet  in  breadth  by  from  thirty  to 
sixty  feet  in  length,  they  were  built  of  boards  which  somehow 
they  had  contrived  to  split  from  large  Cedars  drifted  down 
the  River,  partly  covered  with  the  same  and  with  Mats,  so 
as  to  withstand  the  Rain  ;  each  Shed  had  many  cross  poles 
for  smoke  drying  the  Salmon  as  they  have  no  salt  ;  the 
number  of  Men  were  about  ...  so  that  we  count  the  popu- 
lation at  .  .  .  Souls  ;  the  Sheds  were  clean  and  comfortable, 
and  their  persons  would  have  been  clean,  but  they  had  no 
soap,  and  could  wash  with  only  simple  water  ;  The  Men 
were  of  common  size  with  tolerable  good  features,  straight, 
well  limbed  for  activity,  their  eyes  of  a  mild  cast,  black  and 
inchning  to  a  deep  hazel ;  their  hair  long,  lightly  black,  and 
not  coarse,  the  Women  had  no  beauty  to  spare,  and  wanted 
the  agile  step  of  those  that  dwell  in  tents. 

The  arrival  of  the  Salmon  throughout  this  River  is  hailed 

1  There  was  no  tribe  of  Indians  known  as  the  Ilthkoyapes.  Father 
De  Smet  in  1843  called  them  the  Shuyelphis  ;  but  the  fur-traders  called 
them  the  Chaudieres.     [T.  C.  E.] 

467 


468      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

with  Dances  and  many  ceremonies  which  I  was  five  days  too 
late  to  see  ;  and  therefore  cannot  say  what  they  are  ;  but 
deep  attention  is  paid  by  them  to  what  they  believe  will 
keep  the  Salmon  about  them  ;  for  this  purpose  the  Beach  of 
the  River  is  kept  very  clean,  no  part  whatever  of  the  Salmon 
is  allowed  to  touch  the  River  after  it  is  brought  on  shore,  the 
scales  the  bowels  &c  are  all  cleaned  on  the  land  a  few  yards 
from  the  River,  for  experience  has  taught  them  the  delicate 
perceptions  of  this  fish,  even  a  Dog  going  in  the  edge  of  the 
water,  the  Salmon  dash  down  the  Current,  and  any  part  of 
one  of  them  being  thrown  into  the  water,  they  do  not  return 
until  the  next  day,  especially  if  blood  has  been  washed  ;  in 
spearing  of  them,  if  the  fish  is  loose  on  the  Spear  and  gets 
away,  the  fishing  is  done  for  that  day.  The  spearing  of  the 
Salmon  at  the  Fall  was  committed  for  [to]  one  Man  for  the 
pubHc  good,  of  course  the  supply  was  scant  until  the  fish 
became  sufficiently  numerous  to  use  the  Seine  Net.  The 
third  day  we  were  here,  the  Spearman  in  going  to  the  Fall 
with  his  Spear  came  close  to  the  bleached  skull  of  a  Dog, 
this  polluted  his  Spear ;  he  returned  to  his  shed,  informed 
them  of  the  accident,  and  to  prevent  the  fish  going  away  he 
must  purify  himself  and  his  Spear,  this  was  done  by  boiling 
the  bark  of  the  red  Thorn,  the  steam  of  which  on  himself 
and  the  head  of  his  spear  began  the  process.  When  the  heat 
had  moderated,  his  face  and  hands  and  the  Spear  were  washed 
with  it  and  by  noon  he  was  ready  and  proceeded  to  the 
Fall.  On  our  arrival  the  Chief  presented  us  with  a  roasted 
Salmon  and  some  Roots,  but  what  was  this  small  supply  to 
nine  hungry  men,  and  as  we  found  the  Village  had  no  pro- 
visions to  spare  we  had  to  kill  a  Horse  for  provisions,  this 
was  a  meat  I  never  could  rehsh,  but  my  Canadians  had  strong 
stomachs,  and  a  fat  Horse  appeared  to  be  as  much  relished 
as  a  Deer. 

At  this  Village  were  Natives  from  several  of  the  surround- 
ing Tribes,  as  a  kind  of  general  rendezvous  for  News,  Trade 


ILTHKOYAPE   INDIANS  469 

and  settling  disputes,  in  which  these  Villagers  acted  as 
Arbitrators  as  they  never  join  any  war  party.  Anxious  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  Country,  it's  soil,  forests  and 
animals  I  spent  a  day  conversing  with  them  ;  and  learned 
that  this  Village  was  the  highest  up  the  River,  that  no  Indians 
hunted  more  than  a  few  miles  above  them,  that  all  the  rest 
of  this  River  to  it's  scource,  except  a  few  Kootanaes  had  no 
natives  on  it,  such  was  the  effects  of  the  harassing  incursions 
of  the  Peeagans  and  their  allies.  The  country  to  the  north- 
ward was  sandy  with  much  rock  on  the  surface  which,  by  their 
description  seemed  to  be  Trap  Rock ;  the  Trees  few  and 
scattered,  and  these  of  dwarf  Pines  and  Cedars ;  there  were 
no  animals  until  Winter  set  in  when  the  Antelopes  come  down 
to  the  low  grounds.  This  accounts  for  their  being  poorly 
clothed  ;  they  have  but  few  Horses,  and  their  Canoes  are 
half  of  the  hollow  trunk  of  drift  Cedar  or  Pine,  reduced  by 
fire  to  the  thickness  and  length  they  require,  patched  up  at 
both  ends ;  of  the  country  below  us  they  could  give  no 
farther  information  than  to  the  next  Village. 

Our  great  object  was  to  procure  information  where  good 
clean  Cedar  and  White  Birch  could  be  found,  as  the  Country 
appeared  to  have  none  of  either,  for  two  days  some  of  the 
Natives  with  my  men,  in  different  directions  examined  the 
country  for  materials  to  make  a  Canoe,  but  found  none  ;  and 
I  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  On  our  Road  to  this  place  we  had 
seen  a  hummuck  of  Cedar,  it  appeared  of  bad  growth,  full  of 
Branches,  and  the  Fire  had  passed  ;  and  it  was  seven  miles 
from  the  River,  but  as  a  last  hope  necessity  again  compelled 
us  to  examine  it,  and  by  dint  of  searching  we  found  materials 
for  a  Canoe,  by  pieces  from  different  trees ;  which  we  hauled 
to  the  River  and  constructed  a  Canoe. 

I  looked  upon  a  part  of  the  precautions  of  the  Natives  as 
so  much  superstition,  yet  I  found  they  were  not  so ;  one  of 
my  men,  after  picking  the  bone  of  a  Horse  about  lo  am 
carelessly  threw  it  into  the  River,  instantly  the  Salmon  near 


470      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

us  dashed  down  the  current  and  did  not  return  until  the 
afternoon  ;  an  Indian  dived,  and  in  a  few  minutes  brought 
it  up,  but  the  fishery  was  over  for  several  hours  :  the  greatest 
number  speared  in  one  day  was  only  eleven,  their  weight 
from  fifteen  to  thirty  pounds  ;  they  were  finely  formed,  but 
not  fat  though  well  tasted  ;  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  this 
place  is  about  740  miles.  The  River  at  these  Falls  is  about 
300  yards  wide,  and  from  the  immense  numbers  that  ascended 
these  Falls  from  Sun  rise  to  it's  setting  might  have  employed 
at  least  thirty  spearmen,  and  why  only  one  was  employed  I 
never  could  learn  ;  Both  sides  of  the  River  are  bordered 
with  HiUs  of  four  or  five  degrees  of  altitude,  and  I  remarked 
the  leaping  of  the  Fish  up  the  Falls  was  regulated  by  the 
appearance  of  the  Sun  on  these  Hills,  and  not  by  it's  actual 
rising  and  setting. 

It  is  a  firm  belief  of  the  Natives  of  this  River,  that  of  the 
myriads  of  Salmon  that  annually  leave  the  salt  water  Ocean 
and  enter  fresh  water  Rivers,  not  one  ever  returns  alive  to 
the  sea  ;  they  all  proceed  to  their  respective  spawning  places, 
accompHsh  this,  and  soon  after  (a  few  weeks)  die  of  exhaustion  ; 
that  such  is  the  case  of  those  who  come  to,  and  beyond  these 
Falls  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  after  the  spawning  season  the 
shores  are  covered  with  them,  besides  all  that  are  carried 
away  by  the  stream.  It  does  not  appear  that  they  take  any 
nourishment  after  they  leave  the  sea  as  their  stomachs  are 
always  empty,  probably  from  finding  in  fresh  water  no 
nourishment  suitable  to  them  ;  it  is  aflSrmed  that  no  Salmon 
spawns  twice  ;  if  so,  at  what  age  does  a  Salmon  acquire  the 
power  of  spawning,  the  life  and  habits  of  this  fish  has  some- 
thing curious ;  some  of  them  are  spawned  above  a  thousand 
miles  from  the  sea,  in  fresh  water,  in  which  they  are  nourished  ; 
and  continue  to  be  so  to  the  sea  ;  here  a  change  takes  place 
and  they  now  find  their  support  in  salt  water  ;  until  they 
acquire  the  power  of  spawning,  when  they  enter  fresh  water 
Rivers  which  now  has  no  food  adapted  to  them,  ascend  to 


ILTHKOYAPE   INDIANS  471 

the  very  place  where  they  became  alive,  there  deposit  their 
spawn,  and  die  on  their  way  to  the  sea.  Whatever  the  history 
and  the  habits  of  the  Salmon  may  be,  they  form  the  prin- 
cipal support  of  all  the  Natives  of  this  River,  from  season  to 
season.  The  Dogs  that  with  impunity  eat  all  other  fish  in 
a  raw  state,  die  from  eating  Salmon  in  this  state,  which  may 
also  be  the  case  with  other  carnivorous  animals,  as  we  never 
saw  any  feeding  on  them ;  but  when  cooked  the  Dogs  eat 
with  safety. 

On  the  second  of  July  we  finished  our  Canoe,  during  this 
time  we  had  only  one  Salmon  each  day,  and  we  had  to  live 
on  horse  meat.  On  the  29*''  June  a  Canadian  and  two  Indians 
arrived,  they  bring  the  melancholy  news  of  the  death  of  the 
Wife  and  Child  of  the  former ;  and  of  Francois  Dejarlaiz, 
his  Wife  and  four  Children,  all  drowned  in  one  of  the  Dalles 
of  the  Saleesh  River,  with  the  loss  of  all  their  property  :  this 
is  another  instance  of  the  difference  of  the  navigation  of  the 
Rivers  on  the  west  and  east  sides  of  the  Mountains.  On  the 
latter  the  Rapids  are  plainly  seen,  and  the  Falls  give  distant 
warning  by  their  heavy  sound  ;  but  the  Dalles  of  the  Rivers 
on  the  west  side  as  they  pass  through  the  Basalt  Ridge  make 
no  noise,  the  narrow  channel  between  their  steep  walls  has  a 
treacherous  smoothness  which  lulls  suspicion  until  the  swift 
current  hurries  the  Canoe  on  the  fatal  whirlpool,  and  eddies 
from  which  there  is  no  retreat. 


CHAPTER    IX 

JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC  FROM 
ILTHKOYAPE   FALLS 

Start  on  voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean — Companions — Pass  Spokane 
River — Visit  from  Simpoil  chiefs  and  their  people — Home 
oj  Simpoil  Indians — Appearance — Religion — Leave  Simpoil 
Indians — Trade  with  the  Inspaelis  Tribe — Appearance — 
Language  —  Life  —  Country  —  Dances  —  Religion —  Leave 
Inspaelis  Tribe  and  come  to  village  of  Smeathhowe  Tribe — 
Sinkowarsin  Tribe — Continue  journey — Shawpatin  Indians 
— Skaemena  Tribe. 

HAVING  prepared  ourselves,  and  everything  about 
us  as  well  as  circumstances  permitted,  and  half  a 
Horse  for  our  support,  we  got  ready  for  our  voyage 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  River  before  us  [was]  wholly 
unknown  to  us,  and  all  information  only  a  day's  journey  of 
Rapids  direct  before  us  :  by  Observations  I  found  the  Lati- 
tude of  these,  the  Ilthkoyape  Falls  to  be  48°.  38'.  7"  N 
Longitude  117°.  48'.  49"  west,  and  the  Variation  20  degrees 
East/  *rhe  names  of  my  men  were  Michel  Bourdeaux,  Pierre 
Pareil,  Joseph  Cote,  Michel  Boulard,  Francois  Gregoire ; 
with  Charles  and  Ignace,  two  good  Iroquois  Indians,  and  two 
Simpoil  natives  for  Interpreters.  We  placed  the  Horses  in 
care  of  the  Chief  of  the  Village. 

After  praying  the  Almighty  to  protect  and  prosper  us  on 

1  Kettle  FaUs  is  in  latitude  48°  36'  N.,  longitude  nS"  13'  W.     Its 
elevation  is  1,250  feet  above  sea-level.     [T.  C.  E.] 

472 


THOMPSON    OR   RICKEY   RAPIDS,   COLUMBIA   RIVER,   WASHINGTON, 
FIVE    MILES    BELOW    KETTLE    FALLS 


{Photograph :  Fratik  Palmer) 


JOURNEY   TO   THE   PACIFIC  473 

our  voyage  to  the  Ocean,^  early  on  the  third  of  July  we  em- 
barked and  descended  the  River  for  near  seventy  miles,  and 
in  the  evening  came  to  the  Village  of  the  Simpoil  Indians. 
In  the  above  distance  we  had  several  strong  Rapids  ^  which 
required  all  our  skill  and  activity,  at  one  of  which  we  had  to 
carry  everything  for  near  three  fourths  of  a  mile,  the  water 
is  high  in  the  River,  the  current  very  strong  with  many 
small  whirlpools  and  eddies,  but  not  dangerous.  At  fifty  six 
miles  we  passed  the  junction  of  the  Spokane  River,  which 
comes  from  the  southeastward  by  a  long  series  of  unnavigable 
Falls ;  the  whole  of  this  day  the  country  has  a  pleasing 
appearance,  in  places  thinly  wooded,  but  the  greater  part 
meadows  of  short  grass,  very  fine  for  sheep.  The  grounds 
high  and  dry  ;  above  and  below  the  Spokane  River  the  banks 
were  often  of  perpendicular  Rock  of  trap  and  basalt  of  a 
black  gray  color,  in  places  reddish,  these  banks  had  a  curious 
appearance  to  the  height  of  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  they  retired  from  the  River  by  a  perpendicular  step  of 
twenty  to  thirty  feet,  then  a  level  table  of  ten  to  twenty 
feet,  from  which  rose  another  steep  step,  and  level  table  to 
the  top  of  the  bank.  The  width  of  the  River  may  be  esti- 
mated at  about  five  hundred  yards,  deep,  and  a  rapid  current. 

1  In  his  note-book,  Thompson  describes  the  object  of  his  voyage  as 
follows :  "  We  set  off  on  a  voyage  down  the  Columbia  River  to  explore  this 
river  in  order  to  open  out  a  passage  for  the  interior  trade  with  the  Pacific 
Ocean."     [T.  C.  E.] 

2  The  first  rapids  of  the  day  were  seven  miles  below  the  falls.  "  Last 
J  mile  very  strong,  dangerous  rapids.  Run  it  close  on  the  right,"  says 
Thompson  in  his  note-book.  These  rapids  were  marked  Thompson 
Rapids  on  the  Arrowsmith  maps  (1830-50),  which  were  drawn  from  in- 
formation supplied  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  But  they  were  often 
described  as  the  Grand  Rapids,  and  now  they  are  known  as  Rickey  Rapids. 
Thus  has  passed  away  the  only  bit  of  nomenclature  on  the  main  course  of 
the  Columbia  river  given  in  honour  of  its  first  explorer.  Other  rapids 
passed  during  the  day  were  Turtle  Rapids  at  36  miles,  Black  Island  Rapids 
at  50  miles,  Spokane  Rapids  at  65  miles,  and  Hell  Gate  (forming  a  complete 
letter  S)  at  86  miles.  At  this  last  the  party  was  compelled  to  carry  "  full 
J  of  this  the  major  part  of  the  cargo,  and  run  the  canoe  with  the  rest 
close  to  the  left  bank."     [T.  C.  E.] 


474      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Having  pitched  our  tents/  by  my  two  Simpoil  Natives  I 
sent  for  the  Chiefs  of  the  Village  to  come  and  smoke,  they 
came,  and  the  Men  followed  in  single  file,  and  all  sat  down 
round  the  tent  ;  the  Chief  made  a  short  speech,  saying  he 
was  glad  to  see  us,  and  then  made  a  present  of  two  half  dried 
Salmon,  and  about  half  a  bushel  of  Roots  of  two  kinds,  the 
one  called  Kamass  ^  a  white  root,  of  a  slight  bitter  taste  which 
becomes  a  favorite,  and  is  agreeable  to  the  stomach  ;  the 
other  is  a  kind  of  small  onion,  which  is  dug  out  of  the  ground 
near  the  surface  in  a  soft  rich  soil  of  loam,  then  washed  and 
baked  in  a  smothered  heat,  when  from  white,  they  become  a 
rich  dark  brown  and  very  sweet,  they  are  nourishing,  but 
eaten  too  freely  with  moss  bread,  are  apt  to  loosen  the  bowels, 
and  these  two  served  for  the  rough  bread  and  cheese  of  the 
country.  I  have  already  remarked  that  this  bread  is  made 
from  the  long  black  moss,  like  hair  that  grows  on  the  red 
Fir  Trees.  Four  pipes  were  now  lighted  and  the  smoking 
enjoyed  as  a  feast.  The  Chief  made  a  long  speech  in  a  loud 
singing  voice,  and  each  sentence  [was]  responded  to  by  the 
others  by  Oy  Oy  :  the  Speech  being  ended  and  interpreted 
to  us,  was  thanks  for  our  arrival,  and  hoping  we  would  bring 
to  them  Guns,  Ammunition,  Axes,  Knives,  Awls,  and  not  to 
forget  Steels  and  Flints  with  many  other  articles,  they  were 
able  and  willing  to  hunt,  and  would  be  able  to  pay  for  every- 
thing they  wanted,  but  at  present  they  had  only  their  hands 
to  procure  food  and  clothing,  and  much  more  to  the  same 
purpose,  all  too  true.  I  then  explained  to  them  my  object 
to  know  how  this  River  was  to  the  sea,  and  if  good,  very 
large  Canoes  with  Goods  of  all  kinds  would  arrive,  by  which 
they  would  be  supplied  with  Clothing  and  all  they  wanted 
if  they  were  industrious  hunters.  The  two  Simpoil  Indians 
were  now  called  upon  to  tell  them  all  the  News  they  had 

*  This  camp  was  ninety  miles  from  Ilthkoyape,  and  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  up  the  San  Poil  river. 

-  Quamasia  quamash  (Pursh).     [E.  A.  P.] 


X 
H 

W 
> 
O 

5 

5 
<^ 

D 

O 

u 


JOURNEY   TO   THE   PACIFIC  475 

collected  ;  at  the  end  of  every  three,  or  four,  sentences,  they 
stopped  and  the  Chief  repeated  the  same  aloud,  so  that  all 
could  hear,  and  he  was  answered  by  Oy  Oy.  We  noticed 
that  the  News,  whether  good  or  bad,  was  pronounced  in  the 
same  tone  of  voice.  Smoking  for  the  present  being  over, 
permission  was  asked  for  the  Women  to  come  and  see  us, 
which  being  accorded  they  soon  came  with  their  children, 
and  made  us  a  present  of  Roots  and  Berries  ;  and  sat  down 
around  the  Aien.  Smoking  commenced  for  a  short  time, 
each  Man  took  three  hearty  whiffs  at  the  calumets  passed, 
but  the  Women  were  allowed  only  one  whiff  which  they  made 
a  long  whiff. 

The  Chief  now  proposed  they  should  all  dance,  to  this 
we  assented  ;  the  Men  formed  two  slightly  curved  lines  with 
the  women  close  behind  them  ;  they  had  no  instruments 
and  the  only  music  was  the  song  of  a  man  painted  Red  and 
Black,  his  hair  stuck  full  of  Feathers.  His  voice  was  strong 
and  good,  but  had  few  notes  ;  during  the  song  which  lasted 
about  eight  minutes,  the  dancers  moved  very  slowly  forward 
with  an  easy  motion,  and  without  changing  their  position 
danced  back  to  the  place  they  had  left.  At  the  end  of  the 
song  each  person  sat  down  in  the  place  where  the  song  left 
them  :  the  Chief  made  a  speech  of  about  two  minutes  ;  the 
Song  commenced  and  the  dance,  and  in  this  manner  continued 
for  about  an  hour  when  they  ended  and  they  retired  to  their 
Lodges,  and  left  us  to  our  repose,  which  we  much  wanted  : 

The  next  day  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  country,  I 
remained  until  near  Noon  ;  the  information  was,  the  country 
around  them  was  much  the  same  as  that  we  had  passed,  to 
the  foot  of  the  Hills  ;  whither  all  the  Deer  ^  had  gone  for 
green  grass  and  water  ;  that  they  were  not  willingly  confined 
to  the  banks  of  the  River,  but  would  follow  the  Deer,  if  they 
had  Guns,  or  if  their  arrows  were  shod  with  iron  ;    in  the 

^  In  this  paragraph  the  words  Deer  and  Antelope  appear  to  be  used 
interchangeably,  Deer  (Odocoileus)  being  referred  to.     [E.  A.  P.] 


476      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

hills  the  ground  was  too  uneven  to  surround  the  Antelope, 
and  in  winter  when  they  come  to  the  low  grounds,  and  we 
surround  them,  the  heads  of  our  arrows  break  when  they 
strike  against  a  bone  and  they  escape  ;  I  found  that  all  these 
Natives  in  their  unarmed  state  had  the  same  way  of  hunting 
the  Deer,  by  surrounding  them.  For  this  purpose  the  least 
number  required  is  thirty  active  Men  and  Lads,  but  the  more 
the  better  ;  they  scatter  themselves  early  in  the  morning, 
and  as  much  as  possible  guide  the  Antelopes  to  the  level 
plain  agreed  upon  ;  the  rude  circle  is  gradually  lessened  in  a 
gentle  manner  so  as  not  to  alarm  them ;  and  the  Deer  meet- 
ing each  other  seems  to  give  them  confidence,  until  the  signal 
is  given  ;  when  the  weapons  are  flint  headed  arrows,  which 
more  frequently  wound  than  kill,  the  Deer  soon  break  through 
the  circle  of  Men  and  escape  ;  and  the  same  from  the  noise 
of  the  Gun  ;  but  the  iron  headed  arrows  carry  silent  certain 
death  to  the  tender  Antelope  :  the  number  thus  encircled 
are  from  twenty  to  sixty  ;  out  of  which  the  flint  headed  arrow 
kill  but  few,  but  the  iron  shod  arrow  more  than  half  of  the 
number.  This  is  the  only  method  by  which  they  procure 
clothing  :  their  Lodges  are  made  of  light  poles  covered  with 
matts  made  of  rushes,  sufficient  for  this  season,  but  a  poor 
defence  against  the  weather  of  winter  ;  their  wood  for  the 
fire  and  all  other  purposes  is  procured  from  the  Trees  drifted 
down  the  River  in  freshets,  and  left  on  the  shore,  and  when 
too  long  they  burn  through  the  Log,  or  Pole  to  the  desired 
length  ;  and  their  whole  time  is  taken  up  in  expedients  for 
self  preservation. 

This  is  the  only  village  of  this  tribe,  their  language  is  the 
same  as  the  Saleesh  Indians,  they  are  full  sixty  Men  of  families, 
and  the  number  of  souls  about  420.  They  are  of  middle  size, 
their  features  good,  and  would  be  better  if  they  had  more 
nourishment  ;  for  want  of  which  they  are  slightly  made,  can 
bear  fatigue  but  not  steady  labor  ;  the  Women  and  Children 
were  treated  with  kind  attention,  and  under  all  their  wants 


JOURNEY  TO   THE   PACIFIC  477 

they  were  cheerful  and  contented,  and  I  hope  we  shall  soon 
be  able  to  supply  their  wants  ;  for  at  present  two  thirds  of 
their  food  is  roots  and  berries,  the  few  Salmon  they  get  is 
from  a  Wier  across  a  Brook  of  fifteen  yards  wide,  they  are 
small  and  poor,  they  did  not  know  the  use  of  the  Net  or 
Seine.  Of  their  Religion  I  had  no  time  to  learn  much.  They 
seemed  to  acknowledge  a  Great  Spirit  who  dwelled  in  the 
clouds  to  be  the  master  of  everything,  and  when  they  died 
their  Souls  went  to  him  ;  the  Sun,  Moon  and  Stars  were  all 
divinities,  but  the  Sun  above  all ;  and  that  he  made  the 
Lightning,  Thunder  and  Rain.  Their  worship  was  in  dancing, 
and  the  last  dance  they  gave  me  was  for  a  safe  voyage  and 
return  to  them. 

At  noon  we  left  this  poor  but  friendly  people,  and  pro- 
ceeded down  the  River  for  six  hours,  the  first  four  hours  the 
country  was  bold  high  grassy  hills,  which  at  length  came  on 
the  River  in  steep  banks,  with  isolated  rocks,  and  steep  cliffs 
all  having  a  ruinous  appearance,  the  ravines  were  many,  steep, 
narrow  and  rocky,  the  descent  of  the  Rains  had  not  left  a 
grain  of  earth,  these  cliffs  contracted  the  width  of  the  River, 
the  waves  ran  high  with  many  whirlpools  and  eddies,  in 
one  place  the  Steersman  who  was  standing  to  guide  the 
Canoe  lost  his  balance  and  fell  out  of  the  Canoe,  but  we 
recovered  him,  we  carried  along  part  of  a  dangerous  rapid ; 
at  6  PM  we  tried  to  find  a  place  to  pitch  our  cotton  tents,  but 
after  an  hour's  search,  we  had  to  sit  on  the  rocks  and  leave  the 
Canoe  in  the  water. ^  To  stem  this  current  is  impossible, 
and  although  the  River  is  very  high,  yet  some  three  years 
past,  by  the  Trees  lodged  among  the  Rocks,  the  water  must 
have  been  twelve  feet  higher  than  at  present. 

July  5***.  A  rainy  morning,  having  broken  two  of  our 
paddles  from  drift  wood  we  split  out  four  paddles  and  made 

^  This  was  at  the  head  of  the  Kalichen  Falls  or  Rapids,  afterwards 
known  as  "  Rapide  d'Ignace,"  and  now  known  as  the  Box  Canon  or  Okan- 
ogan Dalles,  fifty-one  miles  from  where  he  started  at  noon.     [T.  C.  E.] 


478     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

two  for  present  use  ;  and  then  embarked,  in  a  short  distance 
we  came  to  a  heavy  Rapid,  the  high  waves  of  which  obliged 
us  to  put  ashore,  and  carry  everything  full  two  miles ;  while 
we  were  doing  this  a  Chief  with  about  sixty  men,  their  women 
and  Children  came  to,  and  helped,  us  over  the  Carrying 
Place.  This  being  done,  the  Chief  for  himself  and  his  people 
made  a  present  of  five  Horses,  five  good  Salmon  well  roasted, 
a  bushel  of  arrow  wood  berries  which  are  sweet,  wholesome 
and  nourishing  ;  about  two  bushels  of  various  roots,  some  of 
which  I  had  not  seen  before,  and  the  dried  meat  of  four 
small,  very  fat,  animals,  which  I  took  to  be  Marmots  ;  ^  the 
two  latter  with  the  five  Horses  I  requested  the  Chief  to  take 
in  charge  until  we  returned  ;  for  what  we  kept  I  paid  three 
feet  of  tobacco ;  fourteen  plain  and  stone  rings,  eighteen 
hawks  bells,  six  feet  of  a  string  of  blue  beads,  nine  feet  of 
gartering,  four  papers  of  vermillion,  four  awls  and  six  buttons, 
which  they  thankfully  accepted  ;  such  is  the  barter  of  these 
countries  with  the  Natives  ;  heavy  rain  obliged  us  to  pass 
the  day  here. 

This  tribe  is  called  Inspaelis,  as  they  procure  the  Salmon 
from  the  River,  and  not  from  a  Weir  on  a  Brook,  the  Salmon 
are  larger  and  in  good  condition,  and  from  their  clothing  the 
Deer  are  more  plentifull  than  with  the  Simpoils,  they  are  a 
finer  people,  several  of  the  Men  were  six  feet  in  height  ;  the 
face  rather  oval,  the  eyes  black,  the  nose  straight  and 
prominent,  the  cheek  bones  moderate,  teeth  and  mouth  good, 
the  chin  round,  on  the  whole  their  appearance  is  manly, 
mild,  open  and  friendly.  The  men  were  ornamented  with  a 
few  shells,  the  women  more  profusely,  in  their  ears,  round 
the  neck,  and  hanging  to  their  girdles  ;  the  tint  of  the  skin 
was  not  so  dark  as  that  of  a  Spaniard,  some  of  the  Women 
daubed  their  faces  with  red  ochre.  Their  Language  is  a 
dialect  of  the  Saleesh  ;  my  Canadian  interpreter  (Michel 
Bourdeaux)  could  not  understand  them,  altho'  they  under- 
*  Marmota  flaviv enter  (Aud.  and  Bach.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEY   TO   THE   PACIFIC  479 

stood  him  ;  my  two  Simpoils  now  became  our  interpreters, 
by  whom  I  learned  they  have  sufficient  Deer  in  winter  for 
their  support  and  clothing  if  they  were  better  armed  ;  they 
have  good  blankets  made  of  Bear,  of  Musk  Rat,^  or  the  black 
tailed  Antelope,^  which  are  cut  into  narrow  stripes,  and  neatly 
interwoven.  Each  blanket  was  of  one  of  these  animals,  and 
not  mixed. 

They  described  their  country  as  high,  dry  and  hilly,  with 
short  grass,  the  rock  showing  itself  in  many  places,  with  but 
few  trees,  and  those  of  Fir,  stunted  and  scattered  ;  such  a 
country  appears  fit  for  only  sheep,  deer,  and  horses  ;  but  has 
many  Brooks  of  clear  water  :  their  manner  of  hunting  is  the 
same  as  alredy  described. 

After  smoking  some  time,  they  prepared  to  give  us  a 
Dance,  that  we  might  have  a  safe  voyage  to  the  sea  and  in 
like  manner  return  to  them.  The  Chief  made  a  short  prayer, 
after  which  the  dance  commenced  of  the  Men  and  Women, 
each  separate,  to  the  music  of  their  singing,  which  was  pleas- 
ingly plaintive,  their  voices  full  and  clear  and  not  too  loud  ; 
each  line  of  Men  and  Women  had  a  clear  space  of  three  or 
four  feet,  within  which  they  danced  ;  at  first  the  step  was 
slow,  and  the  singing  the  same,  but  both  gradually  increased, 
the  step  of  the  dance  very  quick  as  if  pursuing,  or  being 
pursued.  This  lasted  for  about  eight  minutes,  when  a  pause 
of  two  minutes  took  place  ;  a  prayer  was  made,  and  the  dance 
and  singing  repeated  twice  :  the  whole  was  strictly  a  re- 
ligious ceremony,  every  face  was  grave  and  serious,  almost  to 
sadness ;  the  prayers  of  the  Chief  was  accompanied  with 
holding  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  and  so  far  as  I  have  seen  the 
people  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains,  their  Religion 
appears  simple  and  rational,  without  sacrifices  or  superstition, 
and  offer  a  most  extensive  and  hopeful  field  for  the  labors  of 
Missionaries  to  bring  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  heavenly 

^  Fiber  z.  osoyoosensis  Lord.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  Odocoileus  hemionus  (Rafinesque).     [E.  A.  P.] 


480     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Redeemer  of  Mankind.  They  went  to  their  Lodges,  and  sent 
us  a  Salmon  for  which  I  paid  six  inches  of  tobacco.  The 
rapid  of  this  carrying  place  is  in  several  ridges,  rushing  down 
a  descent  of  full  thirty  feet ;  and  the  Salmon  ascended  to 
these. 

July  6"".  A  rainy  morning  ;  early  several  Men  with  a  few 
Women  came  and  smoked  a  while,  the  Women  had  bracelets 
of  Shells  and  fillets  of  the  same  round  the  head.  At  6i  am 
we  embarked  and  in  less  than  four  hours  ^  came  to  a  Tribe 
and  Village  called  Smeathhowe  ;  as  usual  we  put  ashore,  and 
I  sent  the  Simpoils  to  invite  them  to  come  and  smoke  with 
us.  They  found  them  consulting  what  they  should  make  a 
present  of,  for  the  stranger  must  have  a  present  made  to 
him  or  them.  My  reason  for  putting  ashore  and  smoking 
with  the  Natives,  is  to  make  friends  with  them,  against  my 
return,  for  in  descending  the  current  of  a  large  River,  we 
might  pass  on  without  much  attention  to  them ;  but  in 
returning  against  the  current,  our  progress  will  be  slow  and 
close  along  the  shore,  and  consequently  very  much  in  their 
power  ;  whereas  staying  a  few  hours,  and  smoking  with  them, 
while  explaining  to  them  the  object  of  my  voyage  makes 
them  friendly  to  us.  The  Men,  Women  and  Children  now 
came  dancing,  and  singing  a  mild,  plaintive  song  to  which 
they  kept  time,  when  close  to  us,  they  twice  said  Oy  Oy 
and  sat  down  around  us  ;    one  of  them  directed  the  Women 

^  Thompson  makes  here  no  mention  of  the  Okanagan  river,  which  he 
passed  during  these  four  hours,  but  in  his  notes  he  says,'"  Last  course  fine 
view  and  see  the  high  woody  mountains  of  the  Oachenawawgan  River." 
This  view  must  have  been  at  the  upper  end  of  Columbia  Bar,  about  four 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  indicates  that  the  high  water 
allowed  them  to  cut  across  the  bar  and  save  several  miles,  passing  the 
mouth  of  the  river  a  full  mile  away.  It  was  here  that  David  Stuart  and 
his  party  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  established  Fort  Okanagan  the 
following  September.  Thompson  next  stops  at  the  famous  salmon  fishery 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Methow  river  with  the  Indians  of  that  neighbourhood. 
Upon  leaving  these  Indians  he  portages  around  the  Methow  Rapids  just 
below.     [T.  C.  E.] 


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JOURNEY   TO   THE   PACIFIC  481 

and  Children  to  sit  near  the  Men  ;  the  pipes  were  lighted, 
and  they  all  smoked  with  avidity  the  men  taking  from  three 
to  six  whiffs,  some  swallowing  the  smoke,  but  the  Women 
were  allowed  only  one  whiff.  They  now  gave  us  three  well 
roasted  Salmon,  and  half  a  bushel  of  Arrow  Wood  Berries, ^ 
very  acceptable  to  us,  for  which  I  paid  them.  I  learned 
that  from  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Salmon,  all  the  fish 
that  are  taken  for  a  certain  time  must  be  roasted,  not  boiled  ; 
the  Chiefs  then  assemble,  and  after  some  ceremonies,  the 
Salmon  are  allowed  to  be  boiled,  or  cooked  for  the  rest  of 
the  season,  as  the  people  choose.  The  appearance  of  this 
tribe  is  the  same  as  the  last,  except  the  Women  being  more 
profusely  ornated  with  shells  :  their  knowledge  of  the  River 
extended  no  farther  than  to  the  next  village,  where  we  would 
learn  the  state  of  the  River  beyond  them.  At  Noon  we  left 
them  and  soon  came  to  a  bold  Rapid  of  two  miles  in  length, 
the  waves  being  too  high  for  our  Canoe  we  had  to  carry, 
the  Chief  and  four  young  men  came  with  horses  and  helped 
us  to  the  foot  of  the  Rapid  for  which  I  gave  them  eight  inches 
of  Tobacco,  which  was  thankfully  accepted ;  this  carrying 
place  took  us  to  zi  pm.  We  then  descended  a  strong  current 
for  full  three  and  a  half  hours,  and  camped  on  the  left  for 
the  first  time,  the  right  being  steep  rocks. 2  The  country  and 
banks  of  the  river  high,  bold  hills,  very  rude  ;  with  steep 
cliffs  ;  we  could  have  passed  hours  in  viewing  the  wild  scenery, 
but  these  romantic  cliffs  always  indicated  danger  to  us  from 
the  stream  being  contracted  and  forming  whirlpools,  very 
disagreeable  companions   on  a  River  :    on  a   Cliff  we  saw  a 

^  Amelanchier  alnifolia  Nuttall.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Thompson's  observation  this  evening  placed  him  in  latitude  47° 
32'  N.,  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wenatchee  river  in  Douglas  county. 
State  of  Washington,  and  not  far  below  the  Entiatqua  Rapids.  During 
the  day  he  had  travelled  nearly  seventy  miles  through  a  rugged  part  of 
the  river,  with  rapid  current.  He  was  now  on  the  stretch  of  river  travelled 
two  months  later  by  Alexander  Ross  on  his  way  to  Okanagan  with  Stuart, 
and  described  by  him  in  his  Oregon  Settlers.     [T.  C.  E.] 

2   H 


482      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Mountain  Sheep  ^  looking  down  on  us,  which  we  longed  to 
eat,  but  [he]  could  not  be  approached.  We  had  to  kill  two 
Rattle  Snakes  ^  that  would  not  get  out  of  our  way. 

July  7*^.  Having  descended  ten  miles,  we  saw  several 
Men  on  horseback  proceeding  to  the  westward,  two  of  them 
rode  to  the  River  side,  we  went  to,  and  smoked  with  them, 
and  each  of  us  held  on  our  ways.  I  learned  that  they  were 
sent  from  a  Village  to  apprise  them  of  our  coming.  Having 
continued  for  four  miles,  we  came  to  two  long  Lodges  of  the 
same  structure  as  those  we  have  passed,  sufficiently  well 
covered  with  rush  matts ;  one  of  these  Lodges  was  two 
hundred  and  forty  feet  in  length  ;  the  other  sixty  feet  in 
length  ;  each  by  thirty  feet  in  breadth  ;  all  these  measure- 
ments are  by  stepping  the  lengths  at  three  feet  each  step. 
By  their  account  the  name  of  this  tribe  is  Sinkowarsin  ;  ^  they 
are  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  families,  and  from  the 
Women  and  Children  must  be  about  eight  hundred  Souls  : 
the  Language  is  still  a  dialect  of  the  Saleesh,  but  my  Simpoil 
Interpreters  find  several  words  they  did  not  understand ; 
when  we  passed,  and  put  ashore  below  them,  they  were  all 
dancing  in  their  Lodges,  to  the  sound  of  their  songs,  for 
hitherto  we  have  not  seen  a  musical  instrument  even  of  the 
most  rude  kind  along  this  River.  We  sent  to  them  to  come 
and  smoke,  five  steady  looking  men  came,  sat  down  near  us 
and  smoked,  but  although  many  of  the  Natives  we  had 
passed  viewed  us  with  some  suspicion,  as  at  a  loss  what  to 
make  of  us,  these  Men  much  more  so,  nor  could  their  counte- 
nances conceal  that  they  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  us  ; 

1  Ovis  canadensis  californiana  Douglas.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Crotalus  confluentus  lucifer  Baird  and  Girard.     [E.  A.  P.] 

*  These  were  Pisquosh  Indians,  now  known  as  Wenatchees,  belonging 
to  the  Salish  family  and  speaking  the  same  language  as  the  San  Poil, 
Nespalem,  Okinagan,  and  Methow  tribes.  They  were  at  the  fishery  at 
Cabinet  Rapids.  According  to  his  notes,  Thompson  had  observed 
"  high  rocky  mountains  to  the  south-west,"  the  Wenatchee  Mountains, 
and  had  portaged  at  a  rapid  with  a  "  rude  rock  in  one  end,"  the  Rock 
Island  Rapids  with  Bishop's  Rock  at  the  end.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY    TO   THE   PACIFIC  483 

all  the  other  Villagers  had  been  apprised  of  us  by  some  who 
had  smoked  with  us,  these  had  only  heard  of  us  by  report  ; 
except  what  they  learned  from  the  two  horsemen  ;  no  speech, 
as  usual,  was  made,  and  the  Simpoil  Indians  who  accompanied 
us,  explained  to  them  all  they  saw  with  us,  after  smoking  a 
few  pipes,  I  requested  all  the  other  men  to  come,  which  they 
did,  but  in  an  irregular  manner,  and  it  was  twenty  minutes 
before  they  could  be  made  to  sit  down.  Smoking  commenced, 
and  they  offered  us  a  small  present  of  Roots  and  Berries, 
their  attention  was  strongly  fixed  on  our  persons,  especially 
on  those  who  had  let  their  beards  grow  ;  on  our  dresses  which 
were  wholly  of  woollen  or  cotton,  their  clothing  being  of 
leather.  On  our  Guns,  Axes  Knives  and  making  of  a  fire, 
to  which  last  they  paid  great  attention,  they  appeared  de- 
lighted with  the  use  of  the  Axe  in  cutting  and  splitting  of 
the  drift  wood  ;  I  now  explained  to  them  by  the  interpreters 
the  object  of  my  voyage  down  the  River,  that  it  was  to  pro- 
cure for  them  articles  and  clothing  such  as  they  saw  with  us, 
besides  many  other  things,  equally  wanted  by  them.  All  this 
passed  in  conversation  with  one  and  another,  there  was  no 
Chief  to  speak  to  them  ;  a  fine  looking  man  came  and  sat 
close  to  me  with  strong  curiosity  in  his  face  ;  after  eyeing  me 
all  over,  he  felt  my  feet  and  legs  to  be  sure  that  I  was  some- 
thing like  themselves,  but  did  not  appear  sure  that  I  was  so, 
a  very  old  Man  now  came  to  thank  me  for  visiting  them,  and 
that  he  had  the  pleasure  of  smoking  good  tobacco  before  he 
died ;  at  length  being  satisfied  that  we  came  as  friends,  and 
[with]  the  intention  of  doing  them  good,  they  brought  to  us 
two  Salmon,  for  which  I  paid  them  ;  they  then  lifted  up 
their  arms  and  hands  towards  the  skies  praying  for  our  safety 
and  to  return  to  them  :  their  appearance  was  much  the  same 
as  those  we  had  passed,  but  having  more  nourishment  their 
persons  were  more  full  in  form,  and  many  of  the  men  were 
handsome,  with  a  manly  look,  the  Women  I  could  not  call 
any  beautiful,  but  many  were  pretty,  good  looking  with  mild 


484      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

features,  the  children  well  formed  and  playful,  and  respect 
with  kind  attention  to  each  other  pervaded  the  whole ;  tho' 
at  present  poor  in  provisions,  they  were  all  in  good  health, 
and  except  the  infirmities  of  old  age,  we  have  not  seen  a 
sick  person,  partly  from  using  much  vegetable  food,  and 
partly  from  a  fine  dry  temperate  climate. 

They  describe  their  country  to  the  southward  to  be  being 
high  dry  and  barren,  without  animals  ;  to  the  northward  the 
lands  are  good  with  Antelopes,  Mountain  Sheep  (Big  Horn)  ^ 
and  Goats, 2  of  which  their  clothing  is  made,  and  of  the  fine 
long  wool  of  the  latter  they  make  good  rude  blankets.  They 
had  also  a  few  Bison  Robes  which  they  must  have  traded 
from  other  Tribes  ;  all  these  things  allowed  them  to  be 
better  clothed  than  any  tribe  we  had  yet  seen.  We  saw  no 
weapons  of  war  with  them,  and  like  all  the  other  Tribes 
they  may  be  said  to  be  unarmed  :  and  like  them  also  they 
were  all  as  cleanly  as  people  can  be  without  the  use  of  Soap, 
an  article  not  half  so  much  valued  in  civilized  life  as  it  ought 
to  be.  What  would  become  of  the  Belle  and  the  Beau  with- 
out it.  And  also  all  linen,  and  cotton  ;  I  have  often  known 
the  want  of  it,  and  had  to  use  fine  blue  clay  as  a  substitute. 

As  we  were  about  to  leave  this  people  with  their  prayers 
for  our  safety,  a  fine  looking  man  came  to  us  and  requested 
a  passage  in  our  Canoe  for  himself  and  Wife,  to  a  tribe  below 
us  of  which  he  was  a  Chief.  He  remarked  to  us  that  the 
Simpoil  Indians  could  not  interpret  for  us  much  farther  down 
the  River,  as  the  Natives  spoke  a  different  language,  which 
both  himself  and  his  Wife  well  understood,  and  that  he 
would  then  become  our  Interpreter,  glad  of  the  offer  we  gave 
them  a  passage  with  their  little  baggage.  After  descending 
seven  miles  we  put  ashore  to  boil  Salmon,  for  while  with  the 
Indians  our  whole  time  is  occupied  in  talking  and  smoking 
with  them,  and  keeping  guard  on  all  that  is  passing,  for  with 

1  Ovis  canadensis  californiana  Douglas.     [E.  A.  P.] 
-  Oreamnos  montanus  (Ord).     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEY  TO   THE   PACIFIC  485 

people  to  whom  we  are  utterly  unknown,  a  trifling  accident 
might  produce  serious  effects.  Here  was  a  place  for  a  winter 
campment,  it  was  of  the  form  of  a  long  Lodge,  the  earth  a 
dry  light  soil  excavated  to  the  depth  of  one  foot,  clean  and 
level,  the  floor  of  earth,  over  which  the  Lodge  is  erected. 
Having  descended  the  current  for  twenty  one  miles  we 
camped  for  the  night. ^  To  this  distance  the  Banks  of  the 
River  have  become  much  lower,  but  all  the  bays  opposite 
the  Points  of  the  River  have  steep  banks  of  trap  rock,  about 
forty  to  fifty  feet,  the  points  are  of  fine  meadow,  and  when 
the  water  subsides  to  it's  usual  level  must  be  extensive  :  the 
current  more  moderate,  yet  has  many  whirlpools.  On  the 
whole  this  day  the  River  and  country  has  a  more  pleasing 
appearance  than  usual,  but  without  woods,  except  a  few 
scattered  dwarf  red  Fir. 

July  8'^.  Having  proceeded  seven  miles  we  came  to  a 
village  of  Sixty  Two  families,^  the  rapid  current  drove  us  half 
a  mile  below  the  village  before  we  could  land  ;  the  Chief,  a 
middle  aged,  manly  looking  man  on  Horseback  now  rode 
down  to  examine  us,  he  appeared  very  much  agitated,  the 
foam  coming  out  of  his  mouth  ;  wheeling  his  horse  back- 
wards and  forwards,  and  calling  aloud,  who  are  you,  what 
are  you.  Our  custom  was  to  leave  one,  or  two,  men  in  the 
Canoe  to  keep  it  afloat,  the  rest  of  us  drew  up  near  the  shore, 
about  three  feet  from  each  other  all  well  armed,  myself  in 
the  front  apparently  unarmed  ;  this  Chief  sometimes  appeared 
to  make  a  dash  at  us,  we  then  presented  our  guns  and  he 
wheeled  his  horse  ;    in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  became 

^  This  camp  was  near  the  mouth  of  Crab  Creek  and  the  head  of  Priest 
Rapids,  where  the  town  of  Beverley  is  situated  to-day.  Thompson  and 
his  men  suffered  here  from  high  wind  and  mosquitoes  during  the  night ; 
and  rigged  up  a  mast  and  sail  the  next  morning.  This  is  the  southern 
limit  for  Indians  of  the  Salish  family.     [T.  C.  E.] 

2  These  Indians,  called  Skummooin  in  Thompson's  notes,  are  Sha- 
haptins  from  the  Kimooenim  (Snake)  river,  a  name  which  puzzled  Lewis 
and  Clark  in  1805-06.  The  active,  white-haired  man  is  mentioned  by 
Alexander  Ross  the  following  month,  but  higher  up  the  stream.     [T.  C.  E.] 


486     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

composed,  my  native  interpreter,  who  stood  with  us  now 
spoke  to  him  in  a  manly  manner  telHng  him  who  we  were, 
and  what  we  came  for,  to  which  he  listened  with  attention, 
then  called  out  oy,  oy.  He  was  now  joined  by  a  well  made, 
short,  stout  old  man,  his  hair  quite  white,  he  was  on  foot 
and  came  with  a  message.  We  invited  him  to  come  with  his 
people  and  smoke,  upon  which  he  set  off  on  a  gallop,  the  old 
man  on  foot  keeping  near  him.  Having  repeated  to  the  people 
what  we  had  said  and  to  come  forward  and  smoke,  he  re- 
turned at  the  same  pace,  the  old  man  keeping  close  to  him. 
To  our  admiration,  he  was  naked  and  barefooted,  and  we  could 
not  help  saying  to  each  other,  which  of  us  at  his  age  will  be 
equally  active.  The  Man  came  and  smoking  commenced,  a 
present  of  four  Salmon,  and  two  [fish]  of  a  small  species,  with 
berries  were  made,  of  the  latter  we  took  only  part.  By  the 
interpreter  I  told  them  what  I  had  to  say,  the  Chief  repeated 
the  words  in  a  loud  voice,  which  was  repeated  by  a  man  in 
a  louder  voice.  The  women  now  came  forwards,  singing 
and  dancing  which  they  continued  all  the  time  the  men  were 
smoking  :  The  Men  were  well  formed,  but  not  handsome, 
tho'  their  features  were  regular,  they  were  poorly  clothed  ; 
and  the  w^omen  equally  so,  two  of  them  were  naked,  but  not 
abashed  ;  they  all  had  shells  in  their  nostrils  some  had  fillets 
round  the  head  and  bracelets  of  shells  round  the  wrists,  or 
arms,  but  want  of  clothing  made  them  appear  to  disadvan- 
tage. These  people  are  altogether  distinct  from  those  we 
have  seen,  and  are  of  the  Shawpatin,  or  as  it  is  sometimes 
pronounced,  Sararpatin  nation,  of  which  there  are  several 
tribes,  and  speak  a  Language  peculiar  to  themselves,  it 
appeared  soft,  with  many  vowels,  and  easy  of  pronunciation ; 
it  is  the  native  tongue  of  the  Interpreter.  These  people,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  last  Village,  are  making  use  of  the  Seine 
Net,  which  is  well  made  from  wild  Hemp,  which  grows  on 
the  rich  low  grounds.  The  net  appeared  about  full  six  feet 
in    breadth    by    about    thirty    fathoms    in    length ;    it    was 


JOURNEY   TO   THE    PACIFIC  487 

trimmed  and  worked  in  the  manner  we  use  it,  which  gave 
them  a  supply  for  the  day,  and  a  few  to  dry.  But  fish 
however  plenty  can  never  compensate  the  want  of  Deer, 
Sheep,  and  Goats  for  clothing,  and  frequently  a  change  of 
food. 

We  left  these  people  and  proceeded  forty  miles  to  5-i-  pm 
when  seeing  a  large  camp  ^  before  us  we  put  ashore  ;  four 
Horsemen  came  to  us,  and  having  smoked  I  told  them  to 
invite  the  Men  to  come  and  smoke,  they  came  and  sat  down 
in  an  orderly  manner,  the  pipes  went  round,  and  the  often 
repeated  speech  was  made  of  my  going  to  the  Sea,  to  procure 
all  the  Articles  they  were  so  much  in  want  of,  and  return  to 
them,  and  for  which  they  must  be  industrious  hunters  in  the 
winter  season,  and  procure  furrs  for  payment ;  all  this  was 
readily  promised,  they  said  somewhere  near  their  campment 
would  be  a  good  place  for  us  to  make  a  Lodge  and  trade 
with  them,  as  the  large  River  close  below  them  led  to  a  fine 
country  and  skirted  the  distant  Mountains  we  saw  ;  that  they 
had  a  very  mild  winter,  the  depth  of  Snow  they  showed  was 
about  eight  inches,  they  had  sometimes  more  but  [it]  soon 
melted  away.  They  represented  to  us,  that  they  had  plenty 
of  Deer,  two  of  the  species  very  small,^  with  small  Trout  and 
other  Fish  for  the  winter,  with  dried  Salmon  ;  all  the  above 
in  long  detail  was  repeated  by  three  Chiefs,  after  each  other, 
in  a  loud  voice  :  they  made  us  a  present  of  four  Salmon,  for 
the  first  time  fat,  and  gave  a  little  oil  on  the  kettle  when 

1  This  was  one  mile  below  Pasco,  Franklin  county.  State  of  Wash- 
ington, where  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  crosses  the  Columbia  and 
Snake  rivers.  The  Indians  of  this  encampment  were  the  Sokulks,  who 
had  entertained  Lewis  and  Clark  in  October,  1805.  The  name  Skaemena, 
applied  by  Thompson,  is  not  noted  by  other  travellers,  but  presumably 
refers  to  the  Eyakema  (Yakima)  River  Indians.  The  Shahaptin  and 
Yakima  families  often  met  here.     [T.  C.  E.] 

2  These  small  deer  are  the  Columbian  Black-tailed  Deer,  Odocoileus 
columbianus  (Richardson),  later  described  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
river  ;  and  the  Coast  White-tailed  Deer,  Odocoileus  virginianus  leucurus 
(Douglas),  described  from  the  Falls  of  the  Willamette.     [E.  A.  P.] 


488      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

boiled,  they  had  neither  roots  nor  berries  ;   while  the  Salmon 
season  continues  they  live  wholly  by  the  Seine  Net. 

The  name  of  this  Tribe  is  Skaemena,  they  are  Shawpatins, 
and  number  one  hundred  and  fifty  families,  and  are  not  less 
than  about  one  thousand  souls.  They  were  all  tolerably  well 
dressed,  many  of  the  women  had  not  a  shell  in  their  nostril ;  and 
[were]  less  ornamented  than  those  we  have  seen.  They  were 
healthy,  and  as  clean  as  people  can  be  without  Soap.  The  Men 
were  generally  above  the  middle  size,  rather  tall,  well  made 
for  activity,  their  features  good,  mild  yet  manly  ;  many  of  the 
women  would  pass  for  handsome  if  better  dressed,  they  were 
decent,  modest  and  well  behaved.  And  both  sexes  kind  and 
attentive  to  each  other,  and  to  their  children,  most  of  the 
latter  were  poorly  clothed,  or  naked.  After  giving  a  dance 
for  a  safe  voyage,  at  9  pm  they  left  us  and  we  passed  a  quiet 
night. 


CHAPTER    X 

JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC   CONTINUED 

Meet  chief  of  all  the  Shazvpatin  Tribes — Proceed  on  journey  and 
meet  several  families — Mount  Hood — Meet  Indians  engaged 
in  seining  Salmon — Character  of  country  and  incidents  of 
travel — Interpreter  leaves  the  party — Honesty  of  the  natives 
— Description  of  the  country — Arrive  at  two  villages  and 
camp  near  the  Wawthlarlar — People  of  the  villages — 
Salmon — Continue  journey — Reach  the  Pacific  Ocean — 
Visit  Astoria — Finish  the  work  of  completely  surveying 
northern  part  of  North  America  from  sea  to  sea. 

JULY  9'''.^  having  gone  half  a  mile  we  came  to  the 
junction  of  the  Shawpatin  River  with  the  Columbia, 
the  water  is  high  in  both,  the  former  is  about  five 
hundred  yards  in  width,  strong  current  and  turbid  water,  the 
natives  say,  when  the  water  is  low  it  is  a  series  of  rapids  ; 
close  below  the  confluence  the  Columbia  is  between  eight 
and  nine  hundred  in  width.  In  the  distance  of  three  miles 
we  passed  twenty  families  seineing  of  Salmon,  at  two  miles 

*  Thompson's  notes  for  the  day  begin  as  follows  :  "  July  9th,  Tuesday, 
At  6.10  A.M.  set  off.  Course  S.  80°  E.,  J  mile  to  the  junction  of  the  Shaw- 
patin with  this  the  Columbia.  Here  I  erected  a  small  pole,  with  a  half 
sheet  of  paper  well  tied  about  it,  with  these  words  on  it :  Know  hereby 
that  this  country  is  claimed  by  Great  Britain  as  part  of  its  Territories, 
and  that  the  N.W.  Company  of  Merchants  from  Canada,  finding  the 
Factory  for  this  people  inconvenient  for  them,  do  hereby  intend  to  erect 
a  factory  at  this  place  for  the  commerce  of  the  country  around. 
D.  Thompson."  His  idea  clearly  was  to  provide  against  being  driven 
from  this  place,  and  the  country  around  the  lower  portion  of  the  Columbia 
river,  as  he  and  his  partners  had  been  driven  from  Grand  Portage  on 
Lake  Superior,  and  from  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

489 


490      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

lower  down  we  came  to  about  twenty  families,  with  whom 
was  the  Chiefs  of  all  the  Shawpatin  Tribes  ;  he  received  us  in 
manners  superior  to  all  the  other  Chiefs ;  he  appeared  about 
forty  years  of  age,  say  six  feet  in  height  of  a  mild  manly 
countenance  good  features  and  every  way  a  handsome  man, 
clean  and  well  dressed ;  we  found  him  an  intelligent  friendly 
man,  he  made  no  speeches,  but  discoursed  with  us  as  man 
with  man  ;  I  found  my  Interpreter  to  be  a  person  much 
noticed  by  him  ;  he  had  several  active  men  about  him  who 
acted  as  Couriers  to  the  other  Tribes ;  others  as  soldiers 
without  arms,  while  we  were  there  two  old  Chiefs  made  their 
appearance,  upon  which  he  sent  some  of  them  about  one 
hundred  yards  to  meet  them  ;  upon  explaining  to  him  the 
object  of  our  voyage,  he  entered  into  all  our  views  in  a 
thoughtful  manner,  pointing  out  to  us  their  helpless  state, 
and  that  under  their  present  circumstances  they  could  never 
hope  to  be  better,  for  we  must  continue  in  the  state  of  our 
fathers,  and  our  children  will  be  the  same,  unless  you  white 
men  will  bring  us  Arms,  Arrow  shods  of  iron,  axes,  knives 
and  many  other  things  which  you  have  and  which  we  very 
much  want ;  we  informed  him  that  we  had  armed  all  the 
Natives,  particularly  the  Saleesh  and  Kootanaes  and  that  as 
soon  as  possible  we  should  do  the  same  to  all  his  people,  that 
the  way  we  brought  the  Goods  at  present  obliged  us  to  cross 
high  Mountains,  and  through  hostile  people,  that  we  now 
sought  a  short  safe  way,  by  which  all  the  Articles  they  wanted 
would    come    in    safety.     He     requested  we   would   make   a 

^  Chief  Yellepit,  of  the  Walla  Walla  tribe,  which  occupied  both  sides 
of  the  Columbia  for  thirty  miles  below  Snake  river,  as  well  as  the  country 
about  the  Walla  Walla  river.  Thompson  says  in  his  notes  that  "  he  had 
an  American  medal  of  1801,  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  a  small  flag  of  that 
nation."  The  medal  was  given  him  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  who  describe 
him  as  a  "  bold,  handsome  Indian,  with  a  dignified  countenance,  about 
35  years  of  age,  about  5  feet  8  inches  high  and  well-proportioned  "  (see 
Thwaites,  Original  Journals  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  New  York, 
1905.  vol  iii.  p.  134).  Alexander  Ross  also  mentions  him,  under  the  name 
Allowcatt.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC  CONTINUED  491 

Lodge  for  trading  at  the  junction  of  the  Rivers  and  many  of 
the  Natives  would  readily  find  their  way  to  that  place  ;  he 
viewed  all  we  had  with  great  attention,  but  the  women  were 
most  delighted  with  the  Kettles,  the  Axe,  the  Awl,  and  the 
Needle  ;  and  I  remarked  in  all  their  Speeches,  they  never 
mentioned  Tobacco,  or  woollen  clothing  as  necessaries  although 
highly  desired,  yet  they  were  pleased  when  anything  was 
paid  for,  to  see  blue  beads,  Rings  and  other  trifles  for  the 
women  form  part  of  the  payment.  This  Chief  whom  with 
his  small  party  had  come  here  to  have  space  for  fishing,  had 
separated  themselves  from  the  others,  were  actively  employed 
in  cleaning,  splitting  and  preserving  the  Salmon  by  smoke, 
using  all  the  precautions  which  I  have  already  noticed ;  he 
made  a  present  of  two  good  Salmon,  for  which  I  paid  him 
five  feet  of  Tobacco  :  he  remarked  to  me,  that  they  were 
obliged  to  be  very  industrious  during  the  Salmon  season,  as  it 
was  the  principal  dependance  throughout  the  year  ;  for  their 
only  way  of  hunting  the  Deer  was  by  surrounding  them, 
which  seldom  gave  all  of  them  meat  enough  ; 

Hitherto  the  country  has  lowered  much,  and  along  the 
River  when  the  water  is  low  there  must  be  much  fine 
meadow,  but  on  the  upper  banks,  and  to  the  foot  of  the 
Hills  the  land  is  too  dry,  the  grass  short  and  not  tender,  a 
hard  soil  with  the  trap  rock  in  places,  how  far  it  is  fit  for  the 
plough  I  cannot  say,  the  climate  is  very  fine  and  even.  In 
this  month  of  July  the  heat  of  the  day  is  always  tempered  by 
the  westerly  winds  which  rise  about  lo  am.  and  gradually 
increase  to  a  Gale  at  lo  pm  ;  then  abate,  and  by  2  or  3  am 
[there  is]  a  fine  calm  and  heavy  dew,  but  at  times  the  Gale 
continued  all  night  ;  I  remarked  to  the  Chief  the  utter  want 
of  Forest  Trees,  nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  chance  dwarf  Fir, 
and  their  whole  dependence  was  on  drift  wood,  that  in  other 
countries  there  were  Forests  of  various  Trees  which  would 
require  more  than  one  Moon  to  cross  them.  He  said  that 
they  had  no  Forests,  that  it  was  only  in  the  countries  of  the 


492      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Saleesh  tribes  he  had  seen  Forests  of  one  or  two  day's  journey  ; 
that  it  was  more  than  three  winters  since  he  had  been  there, 
that  the  south  part  of  that  country  belonged  to  them,  of 
late  they  had  left  it  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  the  Snake 
Indians  of  the  Straw  Tent  Tribe,  but  if  armed,  they  would 
again  possess  that  country,  from  which,  even  from  here,  we 
are  not  far  ;  for  in  one  day's  march  we  come  to  the  Moun- 
tains ^  which  there,  are  low  ;  the  next  day  we  cross  them,  and 
the  third  day  are  where  we  hunt  the  Bisons,  for  which  we 
have  plenty  of  good  Horses  ;  but  they  had  no  bison  clothing 
among  them.  Through  the  whole  of  these  Tribes  I  have 
seen  no  weapons  of  war,  rarely  a  Bow  and  Arrows,  and  those 
fit  only  for  small  Deer  ;  not  a  single  stone  axe,  and  small 
sharp  stones  for  knives  without  handles,  they  certainly  have 
no  turn  for  mechanics,  an  Esquimaux  with  their  means  would 
soon  have  stone  tools  and  Kettles  to  hold  water  and  boil 
their  fish  and  meat  ;  whereas  all  these  Tribes  do  not  appear 
to  have  anything  better  than  a  weak  small  basket  of  Rushes 
for  these  necessary  purposes.  Most  of  the  musical  instru- 
ments of  the  eastern  Natives  are  made  of  parchment,  or  raw 
hide  dried  as  the  tambour,  drum  and  rattle  ;  and  even  allow- 
ing the  skins  of  animals  to  be  too  valuable  for  such  purposes, 
yet  the  hoofs  of  the  small  deer  might  be  made  into  an 
agreeable  Rattle  as  with  the  Indians  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mountains  ;  the  whole  of  their  Music  is  their  own  voices 
which  costs  neither  time  nor  labor. 

We  embarked  and  proceeded  thirty  two  miles  down  the 
River,  and  passed  about  eighty  families  in  small  straggling 
Lodges  ;  at  one  of  which  of  ten  families  we  put  ashore  to 
smoke  with  them,  but  they  were  terrified  at  our  appearance. 
My  men  stayed  on  the  beach,  and  I  went  forward  a  few  paces 
unarmed,  and  sat  down  with  a  pipe  and  stem  in  my  hand ; 

^  The  mountains  here  referred  to  are  the  Blue  Mountains  of  eastern 
Oregon  ;  and  the  country  where  buffalo  still  ranged  was  the  southern 
Idaho  country  along  the  courses  of  the  Upper  Snake  river.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC  CONTINUED  493 

they  sent  forward  two  very  old  Men,  who  lying  flat  on  the 
ground  in  the  most  pitiful  manner  ;  crawling  slowly,  fre- 
quently lifted  their  heads  a  little  as  if  imploring  mercy  ;  my 
Native  Interpreter  would  not  speak  to  them,  and  all  the 
signs  I  could  make  gave  them  no  confidence  ;  close  behind 
the  men  three  women  crawled  on  their  knees  ;  lifting  up  their 
hands  to  me  as  if  supplicating  for  their  lives ;  the  men  were 
naked  and  the  women  nearly  the  same,  the  whole,  a  scene  of 
wretched  destitution,  it  was  too  painful,  they  did  not  smoke 
with  us,  I  gave  to  each  of  the  men  two  inches  of  Tobacco, 
and  left  them.  They  appeared  as  if  outcasts  from  the  others  ; 
all  those  we  have  passed  today  appeared  idle,  we  saw  none  of 
them  employed  with  the  Seine,  when  I  spoke  to  the  Inter- 
preter when  we  camped  to  learn  the  state  of  these  people, 
he  gave  me  no  answer,  and  both  himself  and  his  Wife  did  not 
wish  to  be  spoken  to  about  them. 

In  the  afternoon,  when  the  River  ran  to  the  WSW  a 
high  Mountain,  isolated,  of  a  conical  form,  a  mass  of  pure 
Snow  without  the  appearance  of  rock,  appeared,  which  I  took 
to  be  Mount  Hood,  and  which  it  was ;  from  the  lower  part 
of  the  River  this  Mountain  is  in  full  view,  and  with  a  powerful 
achromatic  Telescope  I  examined  it ;  when  clear,  the  Snow 
always  appeared  as  fresh  fallen,  it  stands  south  of  the  Columbia 
River,  near  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  from  six 
thousand  feet  and  upwards  [is]  one  immense  mass  of  pure 
snow  ;  what  is  below  the  limit  of  perpetual  Snow,  appears 
to  be  continually  renewed  by  fresh  falls  of  Snow,  its  many 
Streamlets  form  Rivers,  one  of  which  the  Wilarmet,  a  noble 
River  through  a  fine  country  falls  into  the  Columbia  River.^ 

July  lo'^.  A  fine  morning.  Having  gone  twenty  one 
miles,  we  came  to  eighty  two  families,  they  were  well  arranged 
for  the  Salmon  fishery,  their  Seine  Net  was  about  eight  feet 
in  width  with  strong  poles  at  each  end  and  good  lines,  and 

^  Thompson's  camping-place  this  night  was  not  far  from  Castle  Rock, 
Oregon.     [T.  C.  E.] 


494      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

about  fifty  fathoms  in  length  ;    they  had  also  dipping  Nets 

with  strong  hoops,  and  about  five  feet  in  depth.    Their  Canoes, 

as  usual  with  all  the  Tribes,  [were]  made  of  the  hollow  Trees 

drifted  down  the  River  :  I  measured  one  of  them  thirty  six  feet 

in  length,  by  three  feet  in  width  ;     We  staid  about  an  hour 

with  them  smoking  and  talking,  but  they  had  no  information 

to  give  us  :    proceeding  seven  miles  we  put  ashore  at  two 

Lodges  containing  eighty  families  ;    with  whom  we  staid  two 

hours ;  after  smoking  had  commenced  they  made  us  a  present 

of  three  Salmon,  for  which  I  paid  two  feet  of  tobacco.     They 

then  gave  us  a  Dance  to  their  singing,  superior  to  any  dance, 

and  the  Song  more  varied  in  the  notes,  to  which  the  dancers 

kept   time   with   an   easy   graceful  step,   for   which   all   the 

Natives   are   remarkable,   the  youth    of   each   sex   formed   a 

separate  curved  line,  the  elderly  people  behind  them,   the 

dancing  and  singing  were  regulated  by  an  old  Chief,  and 

ended  by  a  short  prayer  for  safe  return.     On  enquiring  why 

they  always  preferred  the  curved,   to  the  straight,   line  in 

dancing,  the  answer  was,  that  the  curved  line  gave  them  the 

pleasure  of  seeing  each  other,  and  that  every  one  behaved 

well,  which  a  straight  line  did  not  allow  ;    in  none  of  their 

dances  that  I  have  seen  do  they  intermix  with  each  other, 

but   each   person   keeps   steady   to     the   first   place  :    slowly 

dancing   a   few   steps   forward,   and   backwards   without   any 

change  of  the  body.     At  the  end  of  each  dance,  which  may 

last  a  few  minutes,  they  sat  down,  in  doing  so,  both  sexes 

with  an  easy  motion  sunk  to  the  ground,  none  of  us  could  do 

the  same,  we  were  too  stiff.     After  leaving  these  friendly 

people  we  went  to  two  men  who  were  seining  Salmon,  and 

bought  two  fish.     Shortly  after  6  pm  we  put  up,  very  much 

fatigued  with  a  heavy  gale  of  head  wind  which  drifted  the 

sand  like  dust.^ 

^  This  camp  was,  as  nearly  as  can  be  determined,  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  river  opposite  the  John  Day  river  and  below  what  are  now  known 
as  the  Indian  Rapids.  It  was  here  that  Thompson  first  heard  from  the 
Indians  "  news  of  the  American  ship's  arrival."     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC  CONTINUED  495 

From  information,  and  from  what  we  have  seen  the 
country  though  much  lowered,  is  still  high  dry  country, 
covered  with  short  grass,  now  faded  for  want  of  rain,  the  banks 
of  the  river  are  all  of  this  kind  of  grassy  ground,  gently  sloping 
from  the  interior,  which  is  an  undulating  plain  to  the  foot 
of  the  distant  hills.  And  the  soil  everywhere  appears  poor 
and  sandy,  it  may  do  for  sheep,  but  what  we  see  is  not  fit  for 
any  other  animal.  And  we  never  see  an  animal  of  any  kind  ; 
the  few  Trees  are  as  usual  stunted  red  Fir,  the  only  Tree  that 
will  grow  on  these  dry  grounds,  and  the  Natives  wholly 
depend  on  the  drift  wood  for  all  purposes.  The  Night  being 
clear  I  observed  for  Latitude  and  Longitude  ;  of  which  I 
make  a  constant  practice,  to  correct  the  survey  of  the  River 
and  to  give  a  true  geographical  position  to  every  part,  though 
of  no  importance  to  the  general  reader  ;  and  therefore  not 
noticed. 

July  ii**^.  A  fine  morning,  having  proceeded  three  miles 
we  came  to  a  Village  of  sixty  three  families,  with  whom  we 
staid  smoking  for  near  an  hour  ;  and  went  on  our  way,  over 
many  strong  Rapids,  some  of  them  required  all  our  skill  to 
avoid  being  upset,  or  sunk  by  the  waves ;  we  passed  two 
Villages  but  could  not  put  ashore  ;  At  2  pm  we  came  to  a 
Village  of  about  three  hundred  families.-^  We  put  ashore  close 
below  them  ;  they  gave  us  a  very  rude  irregular  dance  to 
discordant  singing  ;  several  respectable  Men,  came  and  tried 
to  keep  order,  which  they  barely  maintained,  we  saw  no 
person  who  appeared  to  act  as  a  Chief,  no  speeches  were 
made,  and  as   my  stock  of  Tobacco  was  diminishing  every 

1  Having  passed  through  the  dangerous  John  Day  Rapids  and  Hell 
Gate  Rapids,  and  portaging  over  the  "  Great  Falls  "  at  Celilo,  Thompson 
camped  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river  at  the  head  of  the  upper  Dalles 
(Ten  Mile  Rapids),  at  the  Indian  village  of  Echeloots  (Klickitats),  where 
is  situated  another  great  salmon  fishery  of  the  Columbia,  rivalling  that 
of  Kettle  Falls  above.  The  Indians  of  this  village  were  the  first  Thompson 
had  met  belonging  to  the  Chinookan  family  ;  and  here  his  Shahaptin 
interpreter  left  him,  and  returned  to  the  village  at  Celilo,  where  Thompson 
found  him  on  the  return  journey.     [T.  C.  E.] 


496     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

day,  I  allowed  smoking  to  only  the  respectable  men  ;  they 
were  all  poorly  clothed,  and  the  women  more  so  than  the 
Men,  and  this  sex  in  decency,  modesty,  and  cleanliness,  fell 
short  of  the  upper  country  women  :  like  all  the  Natives  along 
this  River  their  living  was  the  Salmon  fishery  with  the  Seine 
and  Dipping  nets.  Had  they  been  clean  and  well  dressed, 
both  Sexes  would  have  had  a  good  personal  appearance ; 
they  informed  me  they  had  heard  of  white  people  from  the 
sea,  and  warned  us  all  to  beware  of  the  Dalles  and  Falls  which 
were  close  below  us ;  the  soil  was  light  and  like  what  we  had 
passed  :  At  night  the  old  Men  with  some  trouble  got  them 
all  to  retire  to  their  lodges,  and  after  smoking  a  few  pipes 
left  us  to  pass  a  quiet  night. 

July  iz'*".  We  were  now  at  the  head  of  the  Dalles,  to 
which  there  is  a  carrying  place  of  a  full  mile.  I  have  already 
mentioned  the  Dalles  of  the  Saleesh  and  Spokane  Rivers  ; 
these  Dalles  were  of  the  same  formation,  steep  high  walls  of 
Basalt  Rock,  with  sudden  sharp  breaks  in  them,  which  were 
at  right  angles  to  the  direction  of  the  wall  of  the  River,  these 
breaks  formed  rude  bays,  under  each  point  was  a  violent 
eddy,  and  each  bay  a  powerful,  dangerous,  whirlpool ;  these 
walls  of  Rock  contract  the  River  from  eight  hundred  to  one 
thousand  yards  in  width  to  sixty  yards,  or  less  :  imagination 
can  hardly  form  an  idea  of  the  working  of  this  immense  body 
of  water  under  such  a  compression,  raging  and  hissing,  as  if 
alive,  (some  twenty  two  years  after  I  passed  in  1811,  M' 
Peter  Ogden  ^  one  of  the  Partners  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 

1  Peter  Skene  Ogden,  bom  in  Quebec  in  1794,  was  the  youngest  son 
of  Isaac  Ogden,  a  U.E.  Loyalist  of  Lower  Canada  who  was  for  many 
years  a  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench  at  MontreaL  He  entered  the  service 
of  the  North-West  Company  in  1811  at  Isle  a  la  Crosse,  was  transferred 
to  the  Columbia  district  in  181 8,  and  remained  there  until  his  death  at 
Oregon  City  in  1854.  Next  to  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  he  was  the  most 
prominent  officer  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the  district.  For  a 
sketch  of  his  life,  see  Quarterly  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Society,  vol.  xi. 
Ogden  visited  Montreal  and  Lachine  on  vacation  in  1844,  and  he  may  have 
then  met  Thompson  and  told  him  the  incident  here  recorded.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC  CONTINUED  497 

pany  on  his  way  to  Fort  Vancouver  came  to  these  Dalles  in 
a  Canoe  with  eleven  men  ;  M"^  Ogden  put  ashore  and  walked 
down,  he  advised  the  Men  to  carry  the  Canoe  with  the 
Baggage  over  the  carrying  place,  the  road  of  which  is  near 
the  bank  ;  the  water  being  low,  they  preferred  running  the 
Dalles,  they  had  not  gone  far,  when  to  avoid  the  ridge  of 
waves,  which  they  ought  to  have  kept,  they  took  the  apparent 
smooth  water,  were  drawn  into  a  whirlpool,  which  wheeled 
them  round  into  it's  Vortex,  the  Canoe  with  the  Men  clinging 
to  it,  went  down  end  foremost,  and  [they]  were  all  drowned  : 
at  the  foot  of  the  Dalles  search  was  made  for  their  bodies, 
but  only  one  Man  was  found,  his  body  much  mangled  by  the 
Rocks).  Last  evening  when  the  old  Men  quitted  us,  they 
promised  to  send  us  Men  and  Horses  to  take  everything  over 
the  carrying  place,  but  after  waiting  for  them  some  time,  we 
set  to  work  and  crossed,  everything  over  a  tolerable  good 
path  to  a  small  sandy  bay  ;  here  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
many  grey  colored  Seals, ^  they  were  apparently  in  chase  of 
the  Salmon,  we  fired  several  shots  at  them  to  no  purpose. 
About  one  mile  more  of  Rapids,  of  which  we  carried  two 
hundred  yards,  finished  the  Falls  and  Rapids  of  this  River  :  ^ 
the  Country  in  appearance  has  improved,  the  grass  somewhat 
green,  and  a  few  Trees  in  places,  my  Interpreter  with  his 
Wife  left  us  at  the  great  village,  but  his  own  people  are  higher 
up  the  River.  I  paid  him  as  well  as  I  could  for  his  services, 
which  were  of  great  service  to  us.  but  he  said  he  would 
accompany  us  to  the  sea,  if  he  understood  the  language  of 
the  Natives.  He  was  a  fine  steady  manly  character,  cheerful 
often  smiling  but  never  laughing  ;  he  once  remarked  to  me, 
when  he  saw  my  men  laughing  heartily,  that  Men  ought  not 
to  laugh,  it  was  allowed  only  to  Women. 

1  Probably  Phoca  richardi  Gray.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  Thompson's  description  of  the  famous  Dalles  or  troughs  of  the 
Columbia  is  brief,  but  accurate  and  realistic.  When  the  water  is  very 
low,  steamboats  have  been  successfully  run  down  through  these  Dalles, 
but  at  great  risk.     [T.  C.  E.] 

2  I 


498      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

As  a  change  is  now  to  take  place,  I  may  remark  in  justice 
to  the  Natives  we  have  passed,  that  however  numerous  and 
poor,  not  a  single  insult  or  aggression  was  attempted  ;  every- 
thing we  had  was  highly  valuable  to  them,  yet  not  a  single 
article  was  stolen  from  us ;  they  never  offered  us  women,  as 
is  too  much  the  custom  of  the  Indians  on  the  east  side  of  the 
mountains  ;  everything  and  every  part  of  their  conduct,  was 
with  decency  and  good  order ;  they  all  appeared  anxious  to 
possess  every  article  they  saw  with  us,  but  by  fair  barter. 
And  no  doubt,  a  few  years  hence  will  find  them  cultivating 
the  ground,  and  under  the  instruction  of  Missionaries. 

Having  proceeded  sixteen  miles,  we  saw  the  first  Ash  Trees  ^ 
with  Willow  and  Aspin  a  most  agreeable  change  from  bare 
banks  and  monotonous  plains  ;  continuing  nine  miles  we  saw 
two  Mountains  to  the  westward,  each  isolated  and  heavily 
capped  with  Snow  ;  on  each  side  of  the  River  high  hills  are 
seen,  their  summits  covered  with  Snow.  Both  sides  of  the 
River  have  woods  of  Aspin,  Cedar,  Ash,  and  Willow,  but 
none  of  fine  growth,  they  are  full  of  branches  :  having 
descended  forty  miles,  the  greatest  part  fine  steady  current, 
we  came  to  a  Village  of  Houses  built  of  Logs  ;  the  people  of 
which  are  called  Wawthlarlar ;  2  on  the  left  bank  is  a  Village  of 
Log  Houses,  the  people  of  which  are  named  Weeyarkeek. 
At  the  desire  of  the  Chief  of  the  Wawthlarlar  we  camped 
near  his  Village  at  5  pm  and  bought  two  good  Salmon.  These 
people  are  a  distinct  race  from  those  above  the  Dalles,  they 
are  not  so  tall,  but  strongly  built,  brawny,  fat  people,  the 

^  Thompson  is  now  on  the  stretch  of  river  just  below  Lyle,  KUckitat 
county,  State  of  Washington.  It  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  just 
above  this  point  that  the  ash  and  oak  trees  begin.     [T.  C.  E.] 

*  These  Indians  were  called  by  Lewis  and  Clark  the  Wahclellahs  ; 
and  those  on  the  south  side,  the  Yehhuhs.  Thompson  is  now  at  the 
head  of  the  Cascades,  the  "  Great  Shoots  "  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  the 
fallen  "  Bridge  of  the  Gods "  of  Indian  tradition.  According  to  the 
text,  he  camped  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  but  his  notes  indicate  that 
he  camped  on  the  south  side  just  above  the  site  of  Cascade  Locks,  Oregon. 
[T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC  CONTINUED  499 

face  round,  the  eye  black,  or  hazel,  the  hair  brown,  that  of  the 
Women  and  Children  light  brown,  the  cheek  bones  not  too 
high,  the  Nose  full  and  rather  flat,  the  mouth  rather  large, 
the  hps  thick,  the  teeth  good  and  the  neck  short ;  except  a 
few  of  both  sexes  who  were  clothed,  they  were  all  naked, 
the  female  sex  had  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  decency  and 
modesty  of  the  upper  country  women.  Some  of  them  offered 
their  favors,  but  they  were  so  devoid  of  temptation,  that  not 
one  pretended  to  understand  them ;  what  a  change  in  a  few 
miles. 

The  Chief  came  and  invited  me  to  his  House,  which  was 
near  to  us,  it  was  well  and  strongly  built  of  Logs,  the  inside 
clean  and  well  arranged,  separate  bed  places  fastened  to  the 
walls,  and  raised  about  three  feet  above  the  floor,  which  was 
of  earth,  and  clean  ;  a  number  of  small  poles  were  fixed  in 
the  upper  part  on  which  were  hanging  as  many  Salmon, 
drying  and  smoking  as  could  be  placed,  for  the  Salmon  are 
fat  and  good  on  their  first  arrival,  they  were  now  losing  much 
of  their  good  condition  ;  the  Salmon  that  enter  the  Columbia 
River  are  of  five  species  as  pointed  out  to  me  by  the  Natives, 
the  smallest  are  about  five  pounds  in  weight ;  and  the  largest 
from  fifty  to  fifty  five  pounds  weight ;  the  Natives  say,  that 
no  two  species  enters  the  same  stream  to  spawn,  and  that 
each  species  enters  a  separate  River  for  that  purpose  ;  one  of 
the  smaller  species  was  named  quinze  sous,  which  amused  the 
fancy  of  my  men,  it  being  the  name  of  a  small  silver  coin. 
I  staid  about  an  hour  in  the  House,  he  kept  talking  to  me, 
pointing  out  the  arrangements  of  his  house,  and  making  use 
of  as  many  Enghsh  words  as  he  had  learned  from  the  ships 
when  trading  with  them,  some  of  them  not  the  best.  The 
fire  place  was  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  door,  for  which 
some  earth  had  been  taken  away  to  keep  the  wood  steady  on 
the  fire ;  there  was  no  aperture  for  the  smoke,  in  order  to 
give  the  Salmon  the  full  benefit  of  it.  The  fireplace  was 
surrounded  with  rush  Mats,  the  whole  appeared  comfortable 


500     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

to  naked  people,  but  to  me  was  intolerably  close  and  warm, 
I  was  glad  to  breathe  fresh  air,  and  get  to  my  Men.  The 
last  five,  or  six.  Villages  we  have  passed,  as  well  as  these 
people  appear  to  live  wholly  on  Salmon,  without  Berries, 
Roots,  or  any  other  vegetable,  yet  all  appeared  healthy,  and 
no  cutaneous  disorders  were  perceived.  For  the  first  time 
since  we  entered  this  River  we  had  the  pleasure  of  cutting 
standing  Trees  for  fuel ;  the  drift  wood  was  good,  but  so 
much  sand  adhered  to  it  as  blunted  the  edges  of  our  axes, 
and  to  sharpen  them  we  had  only  a  file  ;  for  the  last  two 
miles,  there  has  been  sufficient  woods  along  the  River  side  ; 
I  was  anxious  to  learn  the  state  of  the  River  below  us,  but 
could  learn  only  by  signs  that  there  were  Falls  and  Carrying 
places. 

July  13"*.  We  staid  till  9^-  am  but  could  not  procure  a 
Guide  for  the  Rapids  and  Falls. ^  We  proceeded  three  miles 
of  which  we  carried  one  mile  of  a  steep  Rapid  ;  we  con- 
tinued our  course  and  camped  at  8-i-  pm.  We  passed  several 
Houses  on  each  side  of  the  River,  they  all  appeared  con- 
structed as  I  have  already  described  ;  at  one  of  them  we 
put  ashore  and  traded  a  few  half  dried  Salmon  ;  and  a  Native 
in  his  canoe  came  to  us  and  gave  us  a  Salmon,  we  camped  a 
short  distance  above  Point  Vancouver,  from  which  place  to 
the  Sea  the  River  has  been  surveyed  by  Lieut  Broughton  R.N. 
and  well  described  by  him. 

July  14'''.  We  continued  our  journey,  amused  with  the 
Seals  playing  in  the  River  ;  on  the  1 5"*  near  noon  we  arrived 
at  Tongue  Point,^  which  at  right  angles  stretches  it[s]  steep 
rocky  shores  across  the  River  for  a  full  half  a  mile,  and  brought 
us  to  a  full  view  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;    which  to  me  was  a 

^  Thompson  made  short  work  of  these  famous  rapids,  the  Cascades 
of  the  Columbia.  His  portage  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  he 
must  have  re-embarked  in  very  swift  water.  His  camp  for  the  night 
was  nearly  opposite  Cape  Horn.     [T.  C.  E.] 

2  So  named  by  Lieutenant  Broughton  in  1792  because  of  its  pecuUar 
appearance,     p?.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  PACIFIC  CONTINUED  501 

great  pleasure,  but  my  Men  seemed  disappointed ;  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  the  boundless  horizon  of  the  great  Lakes 
of  Canada,  and  their  high  rolling  waves ;  from  the  Ocean 
they  expected  a  more  boundless  view,  a  something  beyond 
the  power  of  their  senses  which  they  could  not  describe ; 
and  my  informing  them,  that  directly  opposite  to  us,  at  the 
distance  of  five  thousand  miles  was  the  Empire  of  Japan 
added  nothing  to  their  Ideas,  but  a  Map  would.  The  waves 
being  too  high  for  us  to  double  the  Point  we  went  close 
to  the  River  bank  where  there  is  a  narrow  isthmus,  of  one 
hundred  yards,  and  carried  across  it ;  ^  from  thence  near  two 
miles  to  the  fur  trading  Post  of  M'  J  J  Astor  of  the  City  of 
New  York ;  which  was  four  low  Log  Huts,  the  far  famed 
Fort  Astoria  of  the  United  States  ;  the  place  was  in  charge 
of  Mess'*  M'^Dougall  and  Stuart  who  had  been  Clerks  of  the 
North  West  Company ;  and  by  whom  we  were  politely 
received.^  They  had  been  here  but  a  few  months,  and 
arriving  after  a  long  voyage  round  Cape  Horn,  in  the  rainy 
season  without  sufficient  shelter  from  Tents,   had  suffered 


1  Franchere's  description  of  the  arrival  of  Thompson  and  his  men 
throws  a  touch  of  colour  on  the  scene :  "  Toward  midday  we  saw  a  large 
canoe  with  a  flag  displayed  at  her  stem,  rounding  the  point  which  we 
called  Tongue  Point.  The  flag  she  bore  was  the  British,  and  her  crew 
was  composed  of  eight  Canadian  boatmen  or  voyageurs.  A  well-dressed 
man,  who  appeared  to  be  the  commander,  was  the  first  to  leap  ashore  " 
(Franch^re,  Narrative,  p.  120).     [T.  C.  E.] 

2  Fort  Astoria  was  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  in  latitude  46° 
11'  N.,  longitude  123°  52'  W.,  according  to  present-day  observations. 
The  building  of  it  had  begun  on  April  12,  181 1,  when  the  partners  of  the 
Pacific  Fur  Company  had  begun  to  land  their  stores  from  the  Tonquin, 
and  to  prepare  a  place  for  a  trading  post.  The  site,  however,  had  been 
chosen  a  few  days  before.  The  post  was  in  command  of  Duncan 
McDougall  and  David  Stuart ;  for  biographical  sketches  of  these  men, 
see  Coues,  New  Light,  p.  759  and  p.  783  respectively.  For  comparative 
accounts  of  Thompson's  visit,  see  Franchere  and  Alexander  Ross,  both 
of  whom  were  present ;  Washington  Irving,  who  drew  from  the  original 
journals  kept  at  the  fort ;  and  Ross  Cox,  who  arrived  later.  Astoria 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  North-West  Company  by  purchase  in 
October,  1813.     [T.  C.  E.] 


502      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

from  Ague  and  low  Fever,  from  which  most  of  them  had 
recovered. 

This  place  was  about  seven  miles  from  the  sea,  and  too 
much  exposed  to  the  undulations  of  the  waves  ;  the  quality 
of  their  goods  for  trade  very  low,  but  good  enough  for  the 
beggarly  Natives  about  them,  of  the  same  race  I  have  de- 
scribed, and  with  few  exceptions,  [they]  appeared  a  race  of 
worthless,  idle,  impudent  Knaves,  without  anything  to  barter, 
yet  begging  everything  they  saw.  They  were  all  accustomed 
to  trade  with  the  Ships,  mostly  of  the  United  States,  and  had 
learned  a  great  part  of  the  worst  words  of  their  language. 
The  next  day  in  my  Canoe  with  my  Men  I  went  to  Cape 
Disappointment,^  which  terminates  the  course  of  this  River, 
and  remained  until  the  tide  came  in  ;  at  ebb  tide  we  noticed 
the  current  of  the  river  riding  in  waves  over  the  surface  to  the 
sea  for  about  four  miles  ;  on  all  the  shores  of  this  Ocean,  the 
agitation  of  the  sea  is  constantly  breaking  against  the  rocky 
shore  with  high  surges,  and  my  men  now  allowed  the  great 
volume  of  water  forming  these  high  surges  to  be  far  superior 
to  those  of  any  Lake. 

Thus  I  have  fuUy  completed  the  survey  of  this  part  of 
North  America  from  sea  to  sea,  and  by  almost  innumerable 
astronomical  Observations  have  determined  the  positions  of 
the  Mountains,  Lakes  and  Rivers,  and  other  remarkable 
places  on  the  northern  part  of  this  Continent ;  the  Maps  of 
all  of  which  have  been  drawn,  and  laid  down  in  geographical 
position,  being  now  the  work  of  twenty  seven  years. 

1  This  well-defined  headland  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  at  the 
north  side,  and  ten  miles  from  Astoria  as  the  crow  flies.  It  was  observed 
several  times  by  Spanish  navigators  earlier,  but  it  was  named  Cape 
Disappointment  in  1788  by  Captain  John  Meares,  because  he  was  unable 
to  discover  and  enter  a  river  supposed  to  empty  there.     [T.  C.  E.] 


CHAPTER    XI 

DESCRIPTION   OF  THE   COURSE   OF 
COLUMBIA  RIVER 

Description  of  the  Columbia  throughout  its  course — Descent — 
Snow  Birds — Trees — Chief  of  the  Chinooks,  Komkomle 
— Chinook  cradles — Klatsup  Tribe — Slaves — War  canoe — 
Best  navigable  water  found  on  the  north  shore  of  rivers 
flowing  east. 

I  MAY  now  give  some  general  description  of  this  River 
From  its  scource  in  Latitude  50°.  12'.  6"  N  Longitude 
115°.  39'.  30"  West  to  Cape  Disappointment  in 
Lat*^''  46  .  18  .  10  N  123  .  43  .  6  West  the  distance  in  a  straight 
line  is  about  S  64  W  630  statute  miles  ;  it's  scource  is 
5960  feet  above  the  level  of  the  tide  waters  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  including  it's  Falls  and  many  strong  Rapids  some  of 
them  of  thirty  feet  descent  in  two  miles ;  did  the  River 
descend  in  a  straight  line,  it  would  be  at  a  change  of  level 
of  9  feet,  5i-  inches  p"^  mile.^  Such  a  change  of  level  could 
not  be  ascended,  but  Providence  in  this  country  of  Hills  and 
Mountains  has  formed  a  bold  vaUy  through  which  it  holds 
it's  course,  between  Mount  Nelson  and  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  which  gives  it  a  length  of  1348  miles,  making  an  average 
change  of  level  of  four  feet  five  inches  p*^  mile,  and  [it]  is 
ascended  with  toil  and  hard  labor.  In  the  winter  season 
there  is  very  little  snow  on   the  ground  for  near  770  miles 

^  Thompson  is  singularly  in  error  as  to  the  fall  of  the  Columbia  from 
its  source  to  its  mouth.  Its  source  in  Upper  Columbia  lake  is  2,700  feet 
above  sea-level ;  and  as  its  length  is  1,400  miles,  it  has  a  fall  of  about  two 
feet  a  mile.     [T.  C.  E.] 

503 


504     DAVID   THOMPSON'S  NARRATIVE 

from  the  sea,  and  [this]  does  not  lie  long ;  but  for  the  next 
400  miles  the  snow  comes  on  the  ground  early  in  December, 
becomes  three  to  four  feet  in  depth  of  very  compact  snow 
and  does  not  dissolve  until  the  latter  end  of  April ;  the 
next  180  miles  to  the  head  of  the  River  is  almost  without 
snow  during  winter  ;  throughout  the  whole  of  the  River  the 
climate  is  mild  and  the  upper  Lakes  are  open,  and  have  many 
Swans  and  Ducks  during  the  winter,  of  the  former  there  is  a 
large  species  of  which  I  killed  several,  weighing  from  thirty 
two  to  thirty  five  pounds  ;  the  inside  fat  filled  a  common 
dinner  plate. 

The  geese  are  all  birds  of  passage  and  do  not  return  till 
the  middle  of  March,  at  which  time  the  Rooks  and  a  variety 
of  small  Birds  make  their  appearance.  Of  the  anomaHes  of 
this  River  not  the  least  curious  are  it's  Woods  and  Forests  : 
I  have  already  described  the  Forest  of  gigantic  Trees,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Canoe  with  this  River,  more  remarkable  for 
the  size  of  it's  Pines  and  Cedars  than  it's  extent,  which  may 
be  about  six  square  miles.  Above  which  there  are  no  forests, 
only  patches  of  woods,  and  single  Trees,  mostly  of  Fir  with 
some  Aspins ;  below  the  Forest  of  the  Canoe  River,  the 
Columbia  has  very  common  woods,  to  the  Ilthkoyape  Falls, 
740  miles  from  the  sea  ;  in  this  distance  down  to  Point 
Vancouver,  the  banks  of  the  River  and  the  interior  country 
are  bare  of  Woods,  except  for  a  chance  straggling  Tree  of 
Fir.  From  the  last  named  place  to  the  Sea,  there  are  Woods. 
They  cannot  be  called  Forests,  but  of  common  growth  ;  the 
largest  Oak^  measured  only  eighteen  feet  girth,  with  about 
thirty  feet  of  clean  timber,  the  rest  was  in  branches.  On 
Tongue  Point  a  pine  at  ten  feet  above  the  ground,  clean 
grown,  measured  forty  eight  feet  girth,  and  it's  length  in 
proportion  ;  another  Pine,  thrown  down  by  the  wind, 
measured  one  hundred  and  seventy  three  feet  in  length,  here 
it  was  broken  off  by  the  steep  rock  bank  on  which  it  fell,  and 
^  Quercus  garryana  Hooker.     [E.  A.  P.] 


DESCRIPTION   OF  THE   COLUMBIA      505 

at  this  length  was  three  feet  in  diameter  without  a  branch  ; 
close  behind  Astoria  I  measured  a  very  tall  Pine  forty  two 
feet  girth  :  the  Raspberry  stalk  measured  eighteen  to  twenty 
one  feet  in  height,  and  the  size  of  a  man's  arm  ;  the  Rasp- 
berries were  rather  larger  than  common,  of  a  sweet  insipid 
taste,  without  the  least  acid. 

On  the  east  side  of  Cape  Disappointment  is  a  Bay,  part 
of  which  is  called  Gray's  Bay  ;  ^  in  which  is  situated  the 
village  of  the  Chinooks,  whose  Chief  was  the  noted  Komkomle,^ 
a  friend  of  the  white  men,  and  who  by  influence  and  example 
kept  order  as  much  as  possible ;  he  was  a  strong-  well  made 
man,  his  hair  short  of  a  dark  brown  and  was  naked  except  a 
short  kilt  around  his  waist  to  the  middle  of  the  thigh  ;  his 
wife  was  a  handsome  Woman,  rosy  cheeks,  and  large  hazel 

^  The  bay  immediately  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  protected  by  Cape 
Disappointment  is  Baker's  Bay,  so  named  in  honour  of  Captain  Baker 
of  the  trading  brig  Jenny  found  lying  there  by  Lieutenant  Broughton 
when  he  arrived  in  October,  1792.  About  ten  miles  further  east  on  the 
north  shore  was  the  Chinook  village  of  Chief  Comcomly,  and  about  ten 
miles  beyond  that  are  the  bay  and  river  named  in  honour  of  Captain 
Robert  Gray,  who  anchored  there  in  May,  1792.  Thompson's  reference 
is  to  the  entire  north  side  of  the  river  opposite  Astoria.     [T.  C.  E.] 

^  No  visitor  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  failed  to  mention  Comcomly. 
Lewis  and  Clark  found  him  upon  the  beach  when  they  arrived  in  November, 
1805  ;  and  so  did  the  crew  of  the  Tonquin  in  April,  181 1 .  All  the  authorities 
tell  interesting  tales  as  to  his  authority  and  conduct.  Washington  Irving 
dubbed  him  "the  one-eyed  potentate."  On  March  5,  1814,  Comcomly 
attended  a  dinner  given  in  his  honour  on  board  the  Pedlar,  "  clothed 
with  a  red  coat.  New  Brunswick  Regiment  104  th,  a  Chinese  hat, 
white  shirt,  cravat,  trousers,  cotton  stockings,  and  a  pair  of  fine  shoes, 
and  two  guns  were  fired  on  the  occasion"  (Coues,  New  Light,  p.  850). 
Commander  Charles  Wilkes  found  his  grave  behind  Astoria  in  1841,  and 
has  left  us  a  picture  of  it  {United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  vol.  iv. 
p.  321).  Comcomly 's  daughters  intermarried  with  the  fur-traders  ;  and 
one  of  his  grandsons,  Ranald  MacDonald,  bom  at  Fort  George  in 
February,  1824,  was  educated  in  Upper  Canada,  served  as  bank  clerk 
in  Ontario,  ran  away  to  sea  from  New  York,  was  cast  away  on  the 
shores  of  Japan,  and,  as  one  of  the  first  foreigners  allowed  upon  that 
island,  assisted  in  opening  the  way  for  communication  between  Japan 
and  the  rest  of  the  world,  but  ended  his  days  and  was  buried  near  Kettle 
Falls  on  the  Columbia.     [T.  C.  E.] 


506      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

eyes,  and  being  well  dressed  with  ornaments  of  beads  and 
shells,  had  a  fine  appearance,  both  were  in  the  prime  of  life ; 
she  had  a  fine  boy  of  about  nine  months  old,  in  their  kind 
of  cradle,  a  flat  board  at  the  head  of  which  a  narrow  board 
projected,  under  which  was  a  soft  but  firm  compress  against 
which  the  head  of  the  child  was  firmly  placed  so  as  to  flatten 
the  skull,  and  throw  the  brain  backwards,  leaving  the  fore- 
head only  about  an  inch  in  height  above  the  eye  brows ;  all 
the  infants  I  saw  were  not  treated  this  way,  only  those  families 
that  aspired  to  some  distinction ;  another  Tribe  to  the 
northward,  on  the  contrary,  apply  a  thin  board  to  each  side 
of  the  head,  and  thereby  compress  the  forehead  to  be  as  high 
as  possible  above  the  eyebrows,  and  form  a  long  narrow  face  : 
the  latter  appeared  like  so  many  Don-Quixote's  with  a 
melancholy  cast  of  the  countenance  ;  the  broad  faces  of  the 
former,  had  either  an  air  of  ferocity,  or  a  broad  grin,  both 
sufficiently  distorted  to  be  the  ideal  of  ugHness.  A  short  time 
before  my  arrival,  the  Gentlemen  of  Astoria  informed  [me] 
the  Chief  Komkomle  had  met  a  War  Party  in  their  war  canoes, 
and  after  a  long  conference  had  induced  them  to  retire  to 
their  Village ;  when  he  saw  them  advancing  he  left  his 
Village  in  a  small  Canoe  with  three  Slaves,  and  proceeded 
towards  them,  then  going  ashore,  he  called  to  them,  and 
they  came  to  him,  he  squatted  down  on  the  ground  and  made 
a  long  speech  to  them  which  pacified  them  ;  this  war  party 
of  about  a  dozen  of  large  Canoes  was  to  revenge  an  insult 
one  of  their  young  men  had  received  at  Komkomle's  Village, 
from  another  young  man  in  a  quarrel  at  gambling  ;  such, 
or  the  affair  of  a  Woman  is  the  cause  of  their  feuds,  which 
too  often  terminate  in  loss  of  life. 

In  a  Bay  near  the  sea,  on  the  left  side  of  the  River  is  the 
Village  of  the  Klatsups,  of  the  same  race  as  the  opposite 
Village  ;  and  as  far  as  I  could  see  Komkomle  appeared  to 
act  as  their  Chief,  at  all  conferences  squatting  down  on  the 
ground,  an  attitude  very  different  from  that  of  the  Chiefs  of 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   COLUMBIA      507 

the  interior  country,  who  always  stand  erect  when  they  address 
their  people,  or  strangers.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  people 
of  this  Village  were  naked  except  a  rude  kilt  round  the  waist, 
the  few  women  that  were  dressed  looked  much  better  than 
those  who  were  naked ;  from  what  I  could  see  and  learn  of 
them  they  are  very  sensual  people.  They  had  a  few  Sea 
Otters  ^  on  which  they  set  a  high  value,  more  than  they  were 
worth,  and  although  Astoria  had  been  settled  a  few  months, 
yet  they  had  been  unable  to  settle  any  steady  rate  of  barter, 
either  for  furrs  or  provisions,  every  Sturgeon,  or  Salmon  had 
to  be  again  valued  in  barter  ;  a  great  part  of  this  fault  lay 
in  the  very  low  quality  of  the  goods,  especially  the  cotton 
goods,  and  all  their  Tobacco  was  in  leaf  and  of  the  lowest 
price.  The  Natives  were  displeased  with  several  of  their 
articles. 

These  people  had  many  Slaves,  all  that  I  could  learn  of 
them  was,  that  they  were  prisoners  taken  in  their  marauding 
expeditions  along  the  sea  shore,  most  of  them  youths  when 
taken  ;  they  appeared  as  well  off  as  their  masters,  except 
their  paddling  the  Canoes,  and  hauling  the  Seine  Net,  in  all 
which  their  masters  took  a  share  of  the  labor.  For  their 
war  expeditions  they  have  Canoes  well  arranged  for  this  pur- 
pose, made  of  Trees  drifted  down  the  River  ;  these  Canoes 
were  all  of  Pine,  some  of  them  fifty  feet  in  length,  by  four 
to  five  feet  in  breadth  ;  they  had  fashioned  them  to  be  high 
at  the  stern  but  much  more  so  forward ;  which  was  decked 
about  ten  feet,  and  rose  sloping  to  the  height  of  full  three 
feet  above  the  rest  of  the  Canoe,  the  extreme  end  of  which 
is  flat,  with  a  width  sufficient  for  two  men  to  stand  on ;  on 
this  deck,  the  warriors  stand  for  attack,  or  defence,  each 
armed  with  one,  or  two,  long  spears.  Their  defensive  armour 
is  made  of  well  dressed  buck  Moose  Skins  which  are  well  tied 
over  the  shoulders,  and  hang  loose  before  them,  and  in  this 
manner  are  well  calculated  to  deaden  the  force  of  the  arrow, 

^  Laiax  lutris  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 


508      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

or  the  thrust  of  the  Spear  :  with  both  of  these  weapons  they 
are  dextrous,  and  have  courage  to  use  them ;  I  saw  no  fire 
arms  among  them,  which  appears  the  Ships  seldom  trade 
with  the  natives,  and  which,  for  want  of  a  regular  supply  of 
ammunitipn  they  do  not  value,  the  case  will  now  be  otherwise. 
My  surveys  for  fifteen  years  on  the  east  side  of  the  Moun- 
tains forced  on  my  attention,  the  deepest  channel,^  and  the 
most  navigable  part  of  the  Rivers,  which  I  was  frequently 
ascending  and  descending  ;  all  the  great  Streams  northward 
of  the  Missisourie  take  their  rise  in  the  Mountains  and  flow 
northeastward,  either  into  Hudsons  Bay,  or  the  Artie  Sea  : 
these  are  the  Saskatchewan  and  it's  great  branches  into  the 
former  ;  the  Athabasca  and  Peace  River  with  their  tributaries 
into  the  latter  sea.  Besides  the  above  many  Rivers  descend 
to  Hudson's  Bay,  from  the  interior  numerous  Lakes,  all  their 
courses  are  north  of  east ;  in  all  these  numerous  Rivers,  the 
best  channel  and  the  best  navigable  water  is  constantly  on 
the  left  side,  or  as  it  may  be  truly  called,  the  north  side  of 
the  River  ;  ^  it  is  along  this  side  the  Canoes  and  Boats  always 
ascend,  and  very  rarely  on  the  right  or  south  side,  and  this 
only  for  a  short  distance  ;    even  this  is  caused  by  the  above 

'  Until  about  1880  the  ships'  channel  from  the  Columbia  Bar  entered 
Baker's  Bay,  and  then  followed  the  north  bank  up  the  river,  very  seldom 
favouring  the  south  bank.  The  ships  of  the  fur-traders  came  to  anchor 
opposite  Astoria,  four  miles  away,  and  all  goods  were  landed  in  small 
boats.  It  was  this  arrangement  that  led  to  the  drowning  of  Alexander 
Henry  and  Donald  McTavish  while  crossing  the  river  to  the  Isaac  Todd 
on  May  22,  1814.  The  introduction  of  irrigation  in  cultivation  of  the 
land  and  the  cutting  down  of  the  timber  has  caused  so  much  silt  to  enter 
the  river  that  bars  and  islands  have  been  formed,  and  the  ships'  channel 
has  been  changed  to  the  south  bank  from  Gray's  Bay  to  the  Cape. 
[T.  C.  E.] 

^  The  sun  shines  more  directly  and  with  greater  force  on  the  northern 
sides  of  the  valleys  ;  consequently  these  sides  are  dry,  and  the  dry  or 
soft  rock  breaks  down  more  rapidly.  The  southern  sides  of  the  valleys, 
being  less  directly  influenced  by  the  rays  of  the  sun,  are  moister,  and 
more  thickly  covered  with  vegetation  ;  consequently  neither  the  water 
falling  as  rain,  nor  that  flowing  in  the  streams,  cuts  down  the  southern 
bank  as  quickly  as  it  does  the  northern  one. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   THE   COLUMBIA      509 

Law  which  detains  the  greatest  volume  of  water  on  the 
north  shore,  for  it  is  in  this  deep  water  the  drift  Trees  with 
their  Roots  loaded  with  earth,  and  often  Stones  ;  float  down, 
and  some  chance  one  is  stopped  along  the  bank,  or  on  some 
inequality  of  the  bottom  ;  sand  and  gravel  collect  around  it, 
and  thus  it  becomes  a  shoal,  perhaps  an  Islet  :  this  tendency 
of  the  deep  water  to  the  north  shore  of  Rivers  that  have  an 
easterly  direction  is  so  universal,  and  invariable  that  it  may 
be  classed  [as]  the  Law  of  Rivers  flowing  eastward.  But  of 
rivers  whose  general  course  is  south  to  north  or  from  north 
to  south,  as  the  Mississippe,  there  was  no  such  law  acting  on 
the  waters  of  the  River,  the  only  steady  difference  noticed 
was,  the  deepest  water  [was]  more  frequently  on  the  east 
side  than  on  the  west  side.  As  I  was  acquainted  with  no 
large  River  that  ran  from  east  to  west,  I  was  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  far  this  Law  would  be  found  in  Rivers  flowing  in  that 
direction  ;  this  opportunity  the  Columbia  River  afforded 
me,  as  well  as  its  branches ;  and  on  my  passage  up  it,  from 
the  Sea  to  the  Mountains,  our  ascent  of  the  Current  and 
Rapids  as  well  as  the  Carrying  Places  to  the  Falls,  were 
wholly  on  the  north  side  of  the  River.  I  have  often  thought 
what  could  be  the  cause  of  this  invariable  Law,  but  all  my 
reasonings  on  this  fact  has  only  led  to  inefficient  theories, 
and  if  not  accounted  for  by  some  more  learned  man,  must  be 
placed  with  the  unknown  cause,  which,  on  the  same  parallel 
of  Latitude,  gives  to  the  west  side  of  the  Continents  a  much 
warmer  Climate  and  finer  countries  than  the  east  side. 
Perhaps  the  attention  of  some  of  the  curious  in  these  matters 
may  be  directed  to  see  how  far  this  Law  guides  the  waters  of 
the  great  Rivers  in  their  neighbourhood  ;  both  in  the  United 
States,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  Lakes  have 
generally,  the  deepest  water  and  the  highest  and  steepest 
banks  of  the  east  side. 


CHAPTER    XII 

FROM   ASTORIA   TO   SPOKANE    HOUSE 

Preparations  for  return  journey — Leave  Astoria — Hostility  of  the 
Natives — A  prophetess — Attack  by  the  natives — Arrive  in 
the  country  of  friendly  Indians — More  trouble  with  Indians 
— Basalt  rocks — Island  sacred  to  the  dead — Mussel  Rapid — 
Rattle  snakes — fang  teeth  of  the  rattle  snakes — Collecting 
poison  from  the  rattle  snakes — Rattle  snake^s  enemy — Uses 
of  the  rattle  snakes — Reach  junction  of  the  Shawpatin  River 
— Camp  with  Shawpatin  Tribe — Pay  the  Interpreter  and 
leave  the  Shawpatin  Camp — Abandon  canoes  and  proceed 
on  horseback — Natives  along  the  Columbia  River — Arrive 
at  Spokane  House. 

HAVING  procured  a  few  Articles  to  assist  me  in 
buying  provisions,  for  which  I  gave  my  note,  and 
having  found  the  Latitude  of  Astoria  to  be 
46°.  13'.  56"  North,  the  Longitude  123°  .  36' .  16"  West  of 
Greenwich,  and  the  Variation  20  degrees  East ;  we  prepared 
for  our  return  up  the  River.  With  M^  M^'Dougall  I  exchanged 
a  Man,  by  the  name  of  Michel  Boulard,^  well  versed  in  Indian 
affairs,  but  weak  for  the  hard  labor  of  ascending  the  River,  for 
a  powerful  well  made  Sandwich  Islander,  (whom  we  named 
Coxe,*  from  his  resemblance  to  a  seaman  of  that  name  ;)  he 

1  Boulard  had  been  with  Thompson  for  several  years,  and  his  name 
appears  at  many  places  in  his  journals. 

*  Alexander  Ross  sajrs  this  exchange  of  men  did  not  take  place 
until  July  31,  farther  up  the  river,  and  that  "  Cox  was  looked  upon 
by  Mr.  Thompson  as  a  prodigy  of  wit  and  humour."  Cox  seems  to 
have  been  back  at  Astoria  again  in  April,  1814  (see  Coues,  New  Light, 

p.  868).     [T.  C.  E.j 

510 


FROM   ASTORIA  TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    511 

spoke  some  english,  and  was  anxious  to  acquire  our  language, 
and  would  act  as  Interpreter  on  our  Ship  from  England  to 
this  River. 

On  the  22"*^  July,  in  company  with  M'  David  Stuart^ 
and  three  small  wood  Canoes,  with  eight  Men,  with  an 
assortment  of  Goods  for  trade  with  the  Natives,  we  left 
Astoria  with  a  prayer  to  all  merciful  Providence  to  grant  us  a 
safe  journey  ;  with  the  exception  of  Coxe,  my  men  were  as 
before  two  Iroquois  Indians,  four  Canadians,  with  Coxe, 
seven  Men.  We  were  all  eight  well  armed,  each  man  had  a 
Gun  and  a  long  knife,  except  Coxe,  who  had  one  of  my  Pistols, 
of  Mortimer's  make  of  eighteen  inches  barrel,  carrying  a  ball 
of  eighteen  to  the  pound  :  for  I  remembered  the  menacing 
looks  of  many  of  the  Natives.  On  the  contrary  M"^  David 
Stuart  and  his  Men  were  in  a  manner  unarmed,  and  the 
Natives  who  were  all  well  armed  viewed  them  with  a  kind  of 
contempt. 

We  proceeded  on  our  journey,  and  on  the  25*''  came  to 
a  party  of  the  Natives  seineing  of  Salmon,  each  haul  they 
caught  about  ten,  they  gave  us  surly  looks,  and  nothing 
we  could  offer,  would  induce  them  to  let  us  have  a  single 
fish  :  We  camped  a  short  distance  below  Point  Vancouver ; 
the  River  has  much  subsided,  yet  the  water  is  still  high  and 
the  fine  low  points  and  meadows  inundated.  The  next  morn- 
ing one  of  my  [men]  shot  an  Antelope  ;  it  was  fleshy,  but  not 
fat,  it  appeared  to  be  of  a  species  I  had  not  noticed,  finely 
formed,  it's  measure  was,  from  the  nose  to  the  insertion  of  the 
tail,  five  feet  five  inches,  the  length  of  the  tail  fourteen 
inches,  the  height  at  the  fore  leg,  three  feet,  three  and  a  half 
inches  ;    at  the  hind  leg,  three  feet  six  inches,  round    the 

^  David  Stuart  and  his  party  were  bound  for  the  interior  to  estabUsh 
a  trading  post,  the  location  of  which  had  not  been  decided  upon. 
Thompson  accompanied  them,  but  has  httle  to  say  of  them.  In  the  Ught 
of  his  narrative,  however,  it  is  now  possible  to  estimate  better  the  accuracy 
of  the  various  annalists  at  Astoria,  Franchdre,  Ross  Cox,  and  Alexander 
Ross,  the  last  of  whom  was  with  the  Stuart  party  as  clerk.     [T.  C.  E.] 


512      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

breast  three  feet  four  inches  ;  the  back  of  a  fawn  color,  the 
throat,  breast  and  belly,  were  white  :  the  Horns  had  each 
three  branches,  and  [were]  eight  inches  from  tip  to  tip,  the 
meat  was  well  tasted.* 

On  the  27''*  a  blind  Chief  in  his  Canoe  with  two  Slaves  to 
work  it,  came  and  smoked  with  us,  he  was  the  only  person  I 
had  seen  thus  afflicted.  Some  time  after  two  Canoes  came 
to  us,  they  had  scowling  looks.  M""  Stuart  requested  them 
to  bring  us  some  Salmon,  which  they  promised,  but  they  did 
not  keep  their  word  :  the  surly  looks  of  those  we  passed  to-day 
led  us  to  suspect  an  attack  on  us  ;  we  continued  our  voyage 
with  all  the  exertion  we  could  make  against  a  strong  current, 
to  get  past  this  people  as  fast  as  possible  ;  when  we  camped, 
we  kept  our  Canoes  in  the  water  ready  for  self  defence. 

July  28'''.  A  fine  morning  ;  to  my  surprise,  very  early, 
apparently  a  young  man,  well  dressed  in  leather,  carrying  a 
Bow  and  Quiver  of  Arrows,  with  his  Wife,  a  young  woman  in 
good  clothing,  came  to  my  tent  door  and  requested  me  to 
give  them  my  protection ;  *  somewhat  at  a  loss  what  answer 
to  give,  on  looking  at  them,  in  the  Man  I  recognised  the 
Woman  who  three  years  ago  was  the  wife  of  Boisverd,  a 
Canadian  and  my  servant ;  her  conduct  then  was  so  loose  that 
I  had  then  requested  him  to  send  her  away  to  her  friends, 
but  the  Kootanaes  were  also  displeased  with  her  ;  she  left 
them,  and  found  her  way  from  Tribe  to  Tribe  to  the  Sea. 

1  This  was  apparently  a  specimen  of  the  Coast  White-tailed  Deer, 
Odocoileus  v.  leucurus  (Douglas).     [E.  A.  P.] 

-  This  throws  new  light  on  the  "  two  strangers  "  who  had  arrived  at 
Astoria  from  the  interior  on  June  15,  1811,  carrying  a  letter  addressed  to 
"  Mr.  John  Stuart,  Fort  Estacatadene,  New  Caledonia  " — a  letter  which 
had  been  given  them  by  Finan  McDonald  to  get  them  out  of  the  Spokane 
country  (see  the  accounts  of  them  given  by  Gabriel  Franchere  and  Alex- 
ander Ross).  Thompson  had  seen  them  at  Astoria,  but  does  not  mention 
them  until  they  seek  his  protection  at  the  rapids.  An  account  of  the  career 
and  death  of  a  woman  who  is  probably  identical  with  the  one  here  referred 
to  will  be  found  in  Sir  John  Franklin's  Narrative  of  a  Second  Expedition  to 
the  Shores  of  the  Polar  Sea,  London,  1828,  pp.  305-06.    [J.  B.  T.  and  T.  C.  E.] 


FROM   ASTORIA  TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    513 

She  became  a  prophetess,  declared  her  sex  changed,  that  she 
was  now  a  Man,  dressed,  and  armed  herself  as  such,  and  also 
took  a  young  woman  to  Wife,  of  whom  she  pretended  to  be 
very  jealous  :  when  with  the  Chinooks,  as  a  prophetess,  she 
predicted  diseases  to  them,  which  made  some  of  them  threaten 
her  life,  and  she  found  it  necessary  for  her  safety  to  endeavour 
to  return  to  her  own  country  at  the  head  of  this  River. 

Having  proceeded  half  a  mile  up  a  Rapid,  we  came  to  four 
men  who  were  waiting  for  us,  they  had  seven  Salmon,  the 
whole  of  which  they  gave  us  as  a  present ;  I  was  surprized 
at  this  generosity  and  change  of  behaviour,  as  we  were  all 
very  hungry,  at  the  head  of  the  Rapid  we  put  ashore,  and 
boiled  them ;  while  this  was  doing,  the  four  men  addressed 
me  ;  saying,  when  you  passed  going  down  to  the  sea,  we  were 
all  strong  in  Hfe,  and  your  return  to  us  finds  us  stro  g  to  live, 
but  what  is  this  we  hear,  casting  their  eyes  with  a  stern  look 
on  her,  is  it  true  that  the  white  men,  (looking  at  M""  Stuart 
and  his  Men)  have  brought  with  them  the  Small  Pox  to 
destroy  us ;  and  also  two  men  of  enormous  size,  who  are  on 
their  way  to  us,  overturning  the  Ground,  and  burying  all  the 
Villages  and  Lodges  underneath  it  :  is  this  true  and  are  we 
all  soon  to  die.  I  told  them  not  to  be  alarmed,  for  the  white 
Men  who  had  arrived  had  not  brought  the  Small  Pox,  and 
the  Natives  were  strong  to  live,  and  every  evening  were 
dancing  and  singing  ;  and  pointing  to  the  skies,  said,  you 
ought  to  know  that  the  Great  Spirit  is  the  only  Master  of 
the  ground,  and  such  as  it  was  in  the  day  of  your  grand- 
fathers it  is  now,  and  will  continue  the  same  for  your 
grandsons  :  At  all  which  they  appeared  much  pleased,  and 
thanked  me  for  the  good  words  I  had  told  them ;  but  I  saw 
plainly,  that  if  the  man  woman  had  not  been  sitting  behind 
us  they  would  have  plunged  a  dagger  in  her.  This  day  till 
2i  PM  we  had  to  ascend  heavy  rapids,  with  several  carrying 
places,  which  we  soon  managed,  but  M'  Stuarts  log  Canoes 
could  not  be  carried,  they  had  to  be  dragged  over  the  rough 

2   K 


514     DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

rocky  paths  of  every  carrying  place,  besides  the  labour  of 
getting  them  up  the  banks  which  took  much  time  and  delay, 
but  I  could  not  think  of  leaving  them  exposed  to  the  villainy 
of  the  Natives.  M'  Stuart  had  to  hire  the  Natives,  who  were 
collecting  around  us,  to  help  his  Men  to  get  the  log  Canoes 
over  the  Carrying  Places.  About  lo  am,  they  demanded 
payment ;  and  would  give  no  more  help  until  paid  ;  at  least 
three  times  the  number  demanded  that  had  helped  to  carry 
the  goods  and  drag  the  canoes.  M"  Stuart  hesitated  who  to 
pay,  but  Dagger  in  hand  they  were  ready  to  enforce  their 
demands,  and  he  had  to  distribute  leaf  Tobacco,  to  ten  times 
the  value  of  their  services ;  it  appeared  to  us,  they  were 
determined  to  pick  a  quarrel  for  the  sake  of  plunder.  Every 
man  was  armed  with  what  we  called  the  double  Dagger,  it 
is  composed  of  two  blades,  each  of  six  to  eight  inches  in  length, 
and  about  a  full  inch  in  width,  each  blade  sharp  pointed  with 
two  sharp  edges  ;  each  blade  was  fixed  in  a  handle  of  wood, 
in  a  right  line  with  each  other,  the  handle  being  between 
both  blades,  it  is  a  most  formidable  weapon,  and  cannot 
without  great  danger  be  wrested  from  the  holder ;  several  of 
them  took  a  pleasure  with  a  whet  stone  sharpening  each  edge 
to  flourish  their  daggers  close  to  our  faces,  one  fellow  several 
times  came  this  way  to  me  ;  as  if  meditating  a  blow,  I  drew 
a  Pistol  and  flourished  it  around  his  breast,  and  I  saw  no  more 
of  him.  There  were  several  respectable  looking  men  who  did 
not  approve  of  their  wild  behaviour,  and  at  times  spoke  a 
few  words  to  them,  which  seemed  to  have  some  effect. 

We  had  yet  the  great  Rapid  and  Dalles  ^  to  ascend,  and 
the  Natives  appeared  to  afford  no  more  help,  and  keep  M*^ 
Stuart  where  he  was  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapid  ;  we  both  of 
us  saw  our  danger,  and  that  we  must  go  on  as  fast  as  possible 

*  The  Cascades  of  the  Columbia,  which  Thompson  had  descended  on 
July  13.  For  an  account  by  another  eye-witness  of  the  events  that  follow, 
see  Alexander  Ross,  Oregon  Settlers,  pp.  109-11.  Franchdre,  Ross  Cox, 
and  Washington  Irving  also  describe  the  episode.     [T.  C.  E.] 


FROM  ASTORIA  TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    515 

to  get  clear  of  these  people  :  We  expressed  our  surprise  that 
we  who  had  come  so  far  should  meet  such  hard  treatment ; 
that  we  came  to  supply  their  wants,  and  not  to  kill,  or  be 
killed,  and  if  they  continued  to  threaten  our  lives,  they  must 
not  expect  to  see  us  again  ;  upon  this  they  called  to  the 
young  men,  to  go  and  assist  M'  Stuart  up  the  rapids  and 
over  the  carrying  places,  which  they  willingly  and  readily  did ; 
but  there  was  a  large  party  that  rendered  no  assistance  ;  we 
soon  ascended  the  Rapids  with  the  line,  and  carried  over  the 
worst  places  to  the  head  of  the  Dalles,  where  we  put  our  Canoe 
in  the  water,  and  in  it  placed  our  baggage  ready  to  set  off. 
This  we  had  done  sooner  than  the  natives  expected,  and  we 
were  waiting  to  learn  how  M*^  Stuart  was  getting  forward : 
our  place  was  on  a  level  rock  of  basalt  which  formed  the  rim 
of  the  River,  and  nearly  on  a  level  with  it,  so  that  we  could 
not  be  surrounded.  As  this  was  the  last  place  where  we 
could  be  attacked  at  a  disadvantage  in  position,  I  was  anxious 
to  see  what  these  people  would  do  ;  our  arms  were  in  good 
order  and  each  of  us  in  his  place  ;  about  fifteen  yards  from 
us,  running  parallel  with  the  River,  was  a  bank  of  gravel, 
about  twenty  feet  in  height,  steep,  except  opposite  to  us, 
where  it  was  broken  into  a  slope.  This  bank  formed  the  edge 
of  a  plain,  we  were  scarcely  ready  before  a  number  of  them, 
came  over  the  plain  to  the  sloping  part  of  the  bank,  each 
armed  with  a  double  Dagger,  a  Bow  and  three  Quivers  of 
Arrows,  they  formed  three  rows  on  the  slope,  from  the  top 
to  half  down  the  bank,  the  Arrows  were  all  poisoned,  as  we 
afterwards  learned  ;  each  man  had  one  arrow  to  the  bow, 
and  three  more  in  the  hand  that  held  the  Bow  ;  their  bringing 
so  many  Quivers  of  Arrows  was  meant  to  intimidate  us  ;  the 
notch  of  the  arrow  was  on  the  bow  string  but  not  drawn,  I 
directed  my  men,  who  formed  a  line  of  three  feet  from  each 
other,  to  direct  a  steady  aim  at  the  most  respectable  men, 
and  not  vary  their  aim  ;  on  casting  my  eye  on  Coxe,  the 
Sandwich   Islander,   he  had   marked  out   his   man  with  his 


516     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

large  Pistol,  which  he  held  as  steady  as  if  it  had  been  in  a 
Vice,  my  orders  were,  as  soon  as  they  drew  the  arrow  to 
fire  on  them,  but  not  before  ;  in  this  anxious  posture  we 
stood  opposed  to  each  other  for  full  fifteen  minutes,  (it 
seemed  a  long  half  hour)  when  the  upper  rank  began  to  break 
up,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  whole  of  them  retired,  to  our 
great  satisfaction  ;  for  a  single  shower  of  arrows  would  have 
laid  us  all  dead  ;   we  heartily  thanked  God. 

]\r  Stuart  soon  after  came,  and  by  hard  exertion  we  got 
everything  he  had  over  except  one  Canoe,  we  then  went 
about  half  a  mile,  and  camped  late,  very  thankful  that  we 
were  once  more  together.  On  talking  over  the  events  of 
the  day,  we  hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  these  people  ; 
they  appeared  a  mixture  of  kindness  and  treachery  ;  wilHngly 
rendering  every  service  required,  and  performing  well  what 
they  undertook,  but  demanding  exorbitant  prices  for  their 
services,  and  dagger  in  hand  ready  to  enforce  their  demands, 
fortunately  they  were  contented  with  Tobacco  of  a  cheap 
quality.  They  steal  all  they  can  lay  their  hands  on,  and 
nothing  can  be  got  from  them  which  they  have  stolen  ;  we 
noticed,  that  the  party  which  came  on  the  bank  of  gravel  to 
attack  us,  were  all  men  of  from  thirty  to  fifty  years  of  age, 
and  were  from  near  the  sea  ;  as  my  party  were  well  armed 
and  [had]  little  to  do  but  take  care  of  ourselves,  we  were 
marked  to  be  the  first  to  fall,  M"  Stuart  and  party  would 
then  be  easy  work  :  still  there  were  some  few  kind  men 
among  them,  and  more  than  one  man  came  close  to  us  with 
his  dagger,  and  in  a  mild  voice  warned  us  of  our  danger, 
and  to  be  courageous  ;  and  two  men  in  a  canoe  told  us,  a 
large  party  were  determined  to  kill  us,  and  to  keep  a  good 
watch,  which  we  did  all  night,  but  none  came  near  to  us. 

July  29'**.  Very  early  brought  the  canoe  that  was  left 
behind  ;  we  loaded  and  at  day  light  set  off ;  fortunately  for 
us  the  ground  for  upwards  of  five  miles  was  inundated,  two 
canoes  with   each  two  men  came  up  to,   and  followed  us, 


FROM  ASTORIA  TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    517 

keeping  close  behind  us,  these  called  aloud,  and  were  answered 
by  a  Party  on  shore  keeping  on  the  edge  of  the  overflowed 
grounds ;  and  thus  following  us,  and  calling  to  each  other 
for  the  five  miles,  at  the  end  of  this  distance  was  a  Point  of 
Pine  Woods,  with  dry  banks,  very  fit  for  an  attack  as  the 
current  obliged  us  to  keep  close  to  the  shore,  so  far  as  the 
water  would  allow  us,  the  calling  to  each  other  became  more 
frequent,  which  also  plainly  shewed  us  where  they  were  ; 
when  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  Point  to  their  dis- 
appointment, we  sheered  off  from  the  shore,  and  crossed  the 
River,  which  here  is  a  thousand  yards  in  width,  and  thus  set 
ourselves  free  from  these  Scoundrels. 

Their  determination  was  to  kill  and  plunder  us,  but  they 
were  equally  determined  that  not  one  of  them  should  be 
killed  in  so  doing ;  there  was  no  Chief  among  them,  each 
man  appeared  to  be  his  own  leader  ;  whatever  conduct  in 
canoes  they  may  have  as  warriors  I  do  not  know,  but  on 
land  they  were  bungling  blockheads.  Thankful  to  the 
Almighty  for  his  kind  protection  of  us,  we  proceeded  about 
one  mile  and  put  ashore  to  boil  Salmon,  glad  that  we  should 
now  proceed  in  peace.  After  proceeding  a  few  miles,  we  re- 
crossed  the  River  and  soon  after  camped,  enjoying  the  hopes 
of  meeting  with  our  former  friendly  Indians.  Soon  after  a 
Canoe  with  four  Men  came,  and  passed  the  night  with  us. 
They  are  going  to  the  Shawpatin's  to  trade  Horses.  They 
informed  us  of  what  I  have  already  related,  and  that  the 
instigators  were  Natives  near  the  Sea.  As  usual  we  had  to 
pick  up  pieces  of  drift  wood  to  make  our  fire. 

July  30'''.  We  came  to  a  Lodge  of  Shawpatin  Indians 
with  whom  we  smoked,  and  thanked  God  we  were  once  more 
with  friendly  Natives  in  whom  we  could  place  confidence. 
We  have  passed  much  Oak,  but  have  not  seen  any  of  a  fine 
growth. 

July  31'*.  The  first  five  miles  the  River  had  banks  of  Basalt, 
mostly  in  rude  pillars  and  columns,  close  behind  which,  and 


518      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

in  places  attached  were  ruinous  like  walls  of  the  same ;  some 
of  the  columns  were  entire  for  forty  feet,  these  were  generally 
fluted ;  others  in  a  dilapidated  state,  the  fracture  always 
horizontal,  in  blocks  of  one  to  three  feet,  the  color  was  a 
greyish  black,  the  whole  had  a  ruinous  appearance,  they  were 
the  facings  of  sterile,  sandy  plains,  with  short,  scanty  dry 
grass,  on  which  a  sheep  could  hardly  live.  Near  9  am  we  came 
to  the  Upper  Dalles, ^  above  which  is  a  long  heavy  Rapid  ;  to 
avoid  these  unnavigable  places,  there  is  a  carrying  place  on 
the  left  side  of  five  miles.  We  sent  the  Indian  Interpreter 
to  the  Village  at  the  head  of  the  Rapids  to  assist  us  over  ; 
and  bring  us  some  Salmon,  at  i  pm  several  of  the  Natives 
came  with  Horses  and  brought  us  some  Salmon,  and  in  three 
hours  time  we  got  all  across  ;  and  some  time  after  the  canoes 
also  ;  as  we  were  getting  ever)  thing  in  order  for  the  morrow, 
one  came  and  informed  us,  that  some  of  the  Chiefs  with 
their  men  were  coming  to  seize  our  Arms,  and  keep  them,  we 
directly  got  ready  for  the  defensive  ;  and  soon  saw  a  straggling 
party  coming  towards  us  :  when  near  us  and  seeing  us  ready 
to  defend  ourselves,  they  made  a  halt,  after  some  sharp 
words  on  each  side,  they  retired  ;  we  had  to  keep  watch  all 
night  it  was  very  stormy  and  drifting  the  sand ;  they  kept 
walking  about,  and  with  all  our  watching  they  stole  from  us 
fifteen  feet  of  the  line  for  tracking  the  Canoe  up  the  current. 
These  people  are  part  of  those  of  the  large  Village  that 
behaved  so  rudely  as  we  passed  on  our  road  to  the  Sea.  I 
have  already  remarked  that  the  Dalles  of  all  the  Rivers  on  the 

^  After  no  very  strenuous  or  exceptional  experiences  on  the  "  middle 
river,"  Thompson  reached  the  "  Big  Eddy  "  at  the  foot  of  the  Dalles, 
four  miles  above  the  present  city  of  the  Dalles.  Stuart,  leaving  his 
party  behind,  accompanied  Thompson  during  the  day  in  order  to  learn 
the  portage,  but  returned  at  night.  The  portage  around  the  Dalles 
is  about  seven  miles  long,  and  very  tedious,  on  account  of  the 
sand  ;  it  is  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  where  a  government  canal 
and  locks  are  now  (191 2)  being  constructed.  The  famous  Indian  village 
of  Wishram  described  by  Washington  Irving  was  situated  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  along  and  above  this  portage.     [T.  C.  E.] 


FROM   ASTORIA   TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    519 

west  side  of  the  Mountains  are  formed  of  Basalt ;  these  last, 
which  we  call  the  great  or  upper  Dalles,  had  the  Natives  been 
more  peacably  inclined,  I  intended  to  have  passed  a  few 
hours  in  examining  them,  but  what  I  did  see  led  me  to 
believe  that  the  imagination  may  have  full  play  to  form  to 
itself  the  ruins  of  buildings,  temples,  fortifications,  tables, 
dykes,  and  many  other  things  in  great  variety  ;  I  am  aware 
that  geologists  give  an  igneous  origen  to  basalt ;  this  is  a 
theory  I  could  never  bring  myself  to  believe ;  what  is  of 
igneous  origen  must  have  been  in  a  fluid  state,  and  could 
never  have  cooled  down  in  isolated  fluted  columns,  and  many 
other  forms  that  have  sharp  edges  ;  there  is  not  the  least 
vestige  of  volcanic  action,  no  hot  springs  are  known,  nor 
salts  of  any  kind  ;  I  have  calmly  examined  Basalt  Rocks  over 
many  hundred  square  miles,  and  every  where  they  have  the 
same  indestructable  appearance,  neither  heat  nor  ffost, 
weather,  or  water  seem  to  act  upon  them,  what  is  broken, 
or  shivered,  does  not  decay,  nor  form  rounded  debris.  Every 
where  they  present  the  same  sterile,  barren  rock,  alike  deny- 
ing sustenance  to  man,  or  beast. 

August  i^'.  We  had  some  difficulty  to  get  the  Inter- 
preter ^  to  embark,  which  having  done  we  set  off,  thankful  to 
Heaven  for  having  passed  the  last  of  these  troublesome  people  ; 
a  short  distance  above  the  Village  we  came  to  an  Isle,  which 
was  held  sacred  to  their  dead.  There  were  many  sheds  under 
which  the  dead  bodies  were  placed,  all  which  I  wished  to 
examine,  but  my  Interpreter  begged  of  me  not  to  do  it,  as 
the  relations  of  the  dead  would  be  very  angry  ;  we  passed 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy  men  in  several  parties,  into 
which  they  have  now  divided  themselves,  for  to  have  full 
space  for  seineing  Salmon,  upon  which  they  are  all  employed  ; 
as  all  these  were  friendly  we  stopped  a  short  time  and  smoked 
with  them.  Having  proceeded  twenty  six  miles,  the  banks  of 
the  river  the  same  barren  basalt,  and  the  plains  much  the 
1  Thompson  set  out  from  the  head  of  the  Upper  Dalles.     [T.  C.  E.] 


520     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

same,  we  camped  at  7  pm,  and  with  searching  about  found 
bits  of  wood  enough  to  boil  the  Kettle.* 

August  2°**.  Early  set  off,  and  proceeded  twenty  six 
miles ;  in  this  distance  we  passed  one  hundred  and  fifty  five 
men,  with  their  famiHes,  they  were  all  employed  with  the 
Seine,  and  with  success ;  in  the  early  part  of  the  day, 
measured  a  Salmon  four  feet,  four  inches  in  length  ;  and  it's 
girth  two  feet  four  inches,  this  is  of  the  largest  species  ;  but 
not  the  largest  I  have  seen  :  the  banks  of  the  same  material, 
but  much  higher  ;  the  first  bank  about  one  hundred  feet 
broken  into  several  steeps  ;  then  about  eight  hundred  feet, 
in  rude  like  walls,  retiring  behind  each  other,  and  rising  with 
narrow  table  bits  of  rough  grass,  the  country  on  each  side 
rude  and  hilly  without  woods  for  several  miles,  and  destitute 
of  Deer,  or  the  wild  Sheep  of  the  Mountains. 

August  2'^^}  Having  advanced  a  full  mile  we  came  to  a 
Rapid,  which  from  the  very  many  shells,  we  named  the 
Muscle  Rapid ;  these  shells  are  very  frequently  found  on  the 
beach,  as  well  as  on  the  rapids,  but  always  empty  ;  on  the 
shoals  in  the  River,  the  Natives  find  them  alive,  but  do  not 
consider  them  good  to  eat,  and  only  hunger  obliges  them  to 
use  them  for  food,  and  yet  I  could  not  learn  the  eating  of 
them  is  attended  with  any  bad  effects  other  than  they  are 
very  weak  and  watery  food  without  nourishment.  It  is  with 
some  regret  we  proceed  past  several  parties  of  the  Natives, 
they  are  all  glad  to  smoke  with  us,  and  eager  to  learn  the 
news  ;  every  trifle  seemed  to  be  of  some  importance  to  them, 
and  the  story  of  the  Woman  that  carried  a  Bow  and  Arrows 
and  had  a  Wife,  was   to  them   a   romance   to  which   they 

^  The  camping-place  at  night  was  some  distance  below  the  mouth  of 
the  John  Day  river.  The  Hell  Gate  and  John  Day  Rapids  were  difficult 
to  ascend  with  the  line.     [T.  C.  E.] 

*  This  day's  travel  included  several  strong  rapids,  and  took  the  party 
only  about  as  far  as  Roosevelt  on  the  north  bank,  or  Arlington  on  the  south 
bank.  The  rapids  where  mussels  were  observed  were  probably  those  now 
known  as  Indian  Rapids  near  Squally  Hook.     [T.  C.  E.] 


FROM   ASTORIA  TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    521 

paid  great  attention  and  my  Interpreter  took  pleasure  in 
relating  it. 

August  the  3'**  and  4*''.^  The  appearance  of  the  country- 
much  better ;  the  banks  of  moderate  height  with  low  points 
of  good  meadow  land ;  the  interior  country  though  still 
bare  of  Woods  is  level  without  hills,  the  grass  good  and  very 
fit  for  Sheep.  That  hateful  reptile  the  Black  Rattle  Snake 
continues  to  be  very  numerous.  What  they  feed  on  I  cannot 
imagine,  small  birds  there  are  none,  and  the  track  of  a  Mouse 
in  the  sand  is  not  seen,  yet  when  killed  their  inside  is  full  of 
fat.  His  visage  is  of  a  dirty  black,  as  broad  as  it  is  long,  high 
cheek  bones,  and  eyes  starting  out  of  their  sockets  Hke  those 
of  a  crab,  the  very  face  of  the  devil ;  of  all  Snakes  they  are 
supposed  to  be  the  most  poisonous,  and  we  dread  them 
accordingly.  On  going  ashore  our  custom  always  is,  to  throw 
part  of  our  paddles  on  the  grassy  ground,  and  although  we 
think  we  can  see  everything  on  the  short,  scanty  grass,  yet  by 
doing  so  we  are  almost  sure  to  start  one  of  these  Snakes  that 
we  did  not  see.  Every  morning  we  rose  very  early,  while 
the  Dew  was  falling  and  tied  up  our  bedding  as  hard  as 
we  could,  these  were  two  Blankets,  or  one  with  a  Bison 
Robe ;  and  when  we  put  up  for  the  night,  did  not  untie 
them  until  we  lay  down,  by  which  time  they  were  all  with- 
drawn into  their  holes  in  the  sand,  for  they  always  avoid 
Dew  and  Rain  ;  they  are  fond  of  getting  on  anything  soft 
and  warm.  One  evening,  seeing  a  convenient  place,  and  a 
little  wood  we  put  up  rather  early,  and  one  of  the  Men 
undid  his  blankets  and  laid  down,  the  fish  was  soon  boiled 
and  we  called  him  to  supper,  he  sat  up,  but  did  not  dare 
to  move,  a  Rattle  Snake  had  crept  in  his  blanket  and  was 

^  On  August  3,  Thompson  got  beyond  the  high  hills  into  the  lower 
country,  and  appears  to  have  camped  near  Cayote  station  in  Oregon. 
On  August  4,  he  lined  up  the  Umatilla  Rapids,  where  he  complained  of 
rattlesnakes  (which  still  exist  in  some  abundance  in  that  neighbourhood), 
and  camped  near  either  Juniper  on  the  south  bank,  or  Tomar  on  the  north 
bank.     [T.  C.  E.] 


522      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

now  half  erect,  within  six  inches  of  his  face  threatening  to 
bite  him,  he  looked  the  very  image  of  despair.  We  were 
utterly  at  a  loss  how  to  relieve  him,  but  seeing  several  of  us 
approaching  he  set  off  and  left  us.  When  any  animal  comes 
near  him,  he  retires  about  ten  feet,  then  places  himself  on  the 
defensive,  with  one  third  of  his  length  on  the  ground.  The 
rest  of  the  body  is  erect,  with  his  head  forward  ready  to 
dart ;  his  teeth  is  clean  and  white  ;  in  the  lower  jaw  are  two 
curved  fang  teeth  of  about  one  fourth  of  an  inch  in  length  ; 
each  of  these  has  a  fine  groove  in  the  inside,  and  a  bag  of 
poison  at  it's  root,  of  a  black  color,  containing  a  quantity 
equal  to  a  drop  of  Spirits,  these  fang  teeth  are  moveable,  and 
lie  flat  in  his  mouth,  until  he  is  to  seize  his  prey,  or  defend 
himself.  They  are  then  erected,  and  when  he  bites,  the  fang 
teeth  presses  on  the  bag  of  poison  which  rushes  through  the 
groove  into  the  wound,  and  the  animal  is  poisoned ;  these 
teeth  are  loose  in  the  socket,  and  readily  drawn  out  by  his 
biting  a  bit  of  soft  leather  ;   or  cloth. 

The  Hunters  assured  me  that  a  full  grown  snake  biting 
in  a  fleshy  part,  unless  instantly  cut  out,  and  well  sucked,  is 
fatal  in  three  or  four  minutes.  I  saw  a  Hunter  who  had 
been  slightly  bitten  in  the  calf  of  the  Leg,  the  part  was  quickly 
cut  out  and  sucked,  he  had  no  other  injury  than  a  stiff  leg, 
with  very  little  sensation  in  it,  he  said  it  was  like  a  leg  of 
Wood,  but  did  not  prevent  him  from  hunting  ;  At  the  tail 
of  each  is  a  rattle,  which  he  sometimes  uses  to  warn  animals 
that  he  is  ready  for  mischief ;  it  is  said  he  adds  a  rattle  every 
year  but  this  is  a  fable,  for  of  the  many  that  are  killed,  the 
greatest  number  of  rattles  I  have  seen  was  thirteen,  and  this 
number  is  rare  ;  I  have  heard  of  fifteen  rattles,  but  snakes 
having  this  number  must  be  very  scarce.  We  sometimes  cut 
willows  of  about  six  feet  in  length,  get  round  a  large  one, 
and  flog  him,  the  length  he  darts  to  bite  is  only  fifteen  to 
eighteen  inches,  so  that  we  were  safe  ;  in  this  case  the  Snake 
coils  himself  round  a  willow,  keeps  darting  his  head  with  a 


FROM  ASTORIA  TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    523 

quick  motion,  and  the  rattle  moving  with  great  quickness 
and  making  a  surprising  noise.  Mice  and  small  birds  appear 
to  be  it's  food,  a  single  bite  is  given,  and  he  coils  to  wait 
it's  effect,  when  dead  the  victim  is  smoothed  and  softened 
with  the  saliva,  and  then  swallowed  head  foremost,  the  fang 
teeth  lying  flat  in  his  mouth.  The  only  Natives  that  use 
poisoned  weapons,  are  the  scoundrels  that  possess  this  River 
from  it's  mouth  up  to  the  first  Falls ;  to  collect  the  poison, 
aged  Widows  are  employed,  in  each  hand  they  have  a  small 
forked  stick  of  about  five  feet  in  length,  and  with  these  the 
head  and  tail  of  the  Snake  is  pinned  fast  down  to  the  ground  ; 
then  with  a  rude  pair  of  pincers  the  fang  teeth  are  gently 
extracted  so  as  to  bring  the  bladders  of  poison  with  them ; 
these  bladders  are  carefully  placed  in  a  ijiuscle  shell  brought 
for  this  purpose,  the  Snake  is  then  let  loose,  and  is  accounted 
harmless  ;  the  aged  Women  thus  proceed  until  a  sufficient 
quantity  is  collected,  and  then  placed  in  one  muscle  shell ; 
the  arrow  shods,  whether  of  iron,  or  flint  being  well  fixed  to 
the  arrow  shaft,  for  about  half  an  inch  in  length,  is  dipped  in 
the  poison  and  carefully  set  to  dry,  when  dry  it  has  the 
appearance  of  dark  brown  varnish  ;  when  fresh  the  scratch 
of  an  arrow  thus  poisoned  is  fatal.  The  late  M'  Alexander 
Stuart  in  a  skirmish  with  the  Natives  near  the  sea  in  an 
attempt  to  plunder  him,  was  wounded  in  the  shoulder  with 
one  of  these  arrows,  five  years  after  it  had  been  dipped  in 
the  poison,  and  which  to  appearance  was  worn  off ;  yet  it 
affected  his  health,  and  was  supposed  to  have  hastened  his 
death.  There  are  four  species  of  the  Rattle  Snake,  three  of 
them  are  common  in  some  parts  of  Upper  Canada,  all  of 
them  have  very  short  rattles  and  if  taken  in  time  their  bites  can 
be  cured  ;  but  the  black  Rattle  Snake  is  found  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  Missisourie,  and  along  the  Columbia  River,  on 
the  warm  sandy  soils  of  these  Rivers,  where  they  are  too 
numerous.  When  near  the  Missisourie,  I  remember  starting 
a  bull  bison,  headlong  he  ran  over  some  sand  knowls,  where 


524     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

a  number  of  these  reptiles  were  basking  in  the  sun,  they  bit 
him  with  good  will,  he  ran  on  kicking  and  flinging  up  his 
hind  feet,  but  did  not  fall  as  far  as  I  could  see  him.  These 
Snakes  have  always  much  fat  in  their  insides,  which  is  of  a 
fine  white  color,  which  the  Hunters  say  possesses  a  peculiar 
quality  ;  when  they  are  fatigued  and  the  joints  stiff,  by  this 
fat  being  rubbed  round  the  knees  and  ankles  they  become 
supple,  and  free  from  stiffness  ;  one  of  them  related  that 
being  very  tired  he  made  a  free  use  of  it,  which  weakened  his 
joints  for  two  days  [so]  that  he  could  hardly  stand,  and  never 
more  made  use  of  it ;  the  opinion  of  the  Hunters  were  that 
the  use  of  it  brought  on  a  weakness  of  the  Knee  and  Ankle. 
The  Rattle  Snake  fears  no  animal  but  the  Hog.  This  voracious 
brute  is  it's  master  :  as  soon  as  the  Hog  sees  a  Snake,  with  a 
peculiar  grunt  he  sets  off  full  speed.  The  snake  exerts  itself 
to  get  away,  but  the  Hog  soon  comes  up  with  it,  and  directly 
placing  one  of  his  fore  feet  on,  about  the  middle  of  the  Snake 
holds  it  fast,  in  an  instant  he  bites  off  the  tail  about  near 
two  inches  above  the  Rattle,  which  he  throws  away  and 
seizing  the  bitten  end  in  his  mouth  devours  it,  the  snake 
writhing  in  agonies,  holding  itself  straight  from  the  Hog  to 
get  away,  not  once  turning  to  revenge  itself,  when  within 
about  two  inches  of  the  head,  the  Hog  drops  the  rest  with 
the  head.  What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  powerful  antipathy 
which  is  far  stronger  than  the  love  of  life,  to  which  even  the 
dreadful  venomous  Rattle  Snake  yields  it's  life,  without  the 
slightest  defence  ;  in  this  respect  the  Indians  justly  look  on 
the  Hog  as  a  Manito.  I  have  never  yet  seen  the  doctrine 
of  antipathies  explained,  yet  it's  action  and  effects  are  strangely 
powerful.  The  civilized  world  is  well  acquainted  with  the 
superstitions  on  Vipers,  of  which  it  may  be  said,  there  is  no 
end.  The  Indians,  and  also  the  white  Hunters  have  their 
superstitions  ;  and  every  part  of  a  venomous  Snake  has  its 
use,  or  certain  properties  ;  and  there  is  one  that  I  have 
more  than  once  seen  tried  and  each  time  [it]  produced  its 


FROM   ASTORIA   TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    525 

effect.  This  is  the  Rattle  of  the  Snake  ;  those  who  have  seen 
the  rattle,  or  a  good  drawing  of  it,  know  it  is  in  shape  like  a 
thin  oblong  clean  skin  bladder,  each  slightly  connected  with 
each  other,  in  each  of  the  small  circular  hard  substance  about 
the  size  of  the  head  of  a  large  pin  ;  when  a  Woman  is  in  hard 
labor,  and  her  situation  doubtful,  one  or  two  of  the  rattles 
is  bruised  very  fine,  mixed  with  a  little  water  and  given  to 
the  woman,  which  very  soon  relieves  her  :  among  the  Indians 
I  remember  five  cases  and  each  successful ;  and  they  informed 
me  they  never  adminerster  it,  but  in  cases  of  necessity  :  how  it 
is  supposed  to  act  I  could  never  learn.  The  skin  is  used  to 
cover  the  sinew  part  of  the  Bows  which  are  strengthened 
with  sinews,  each  bow  requires  two  skins,  as  only  the  widest 
part  can  be  made  use  of  :  the  flesh  is  some  times  eaten,  and 
is  said  to  be  in  taste  like  an  eel :  it's  poison  I  have  already 
noticed,  I  do  not  know  of  any  experiments  made  on  it,  or 
any  use  to  which  it  is  applied,  except  the  poisoning  of 
weapons  ;  it's  antipathy  to  the  Hog  so  well  known  has  in- 
duced the  Hunters  to  procure  the  large  teeth  of  full  grown 
Hogs ;  form  a  band  of  them,  which  is  tied  close  below  the 
knee,  and  sometimes  another  at  the  ankle,  of  each  leg.  This 
is  held  to  be  full  security  against  all  kinds  of  venomous  snakes ; 
and  so  far  as  is  known,  no  person  thus  fortified  has  ever  been 
bitten  by  a  snake.  On  this  part  of  the  continent  venomous 
Snakes  are  not  known  northward  of  the  fiftieth  parallel  of 
Latitude. 

August  4*^  and  5"*.  Two  fine  days,  we  proceeded  sixty 
miles,  strong  current  and  Rapids ;'  for  the  whole  of  this  dis- 
tance the  sides  of  the  River  are  of  Basalt  Rock,  in  all  it's 
wildest  forms,  a  fine  field  for  the  imagination  to  play  in,  and 
form  structures  from  a  Castle  to  a  Table.  Parts  are  in  pillars 
much  shattered,  other  parts  show  fluted  columns,  hke  those 
of  an  organ  ;  rising  above  each  other,  and  retiring  to  the 
height  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred  feet,  on 
the  top  of  which  are  sandy  plains  as  already  described.     The 


526      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Columbia  is  here  nine  hundred  yards  in  width  with  a  powerful 
current,  and  if  a  River  of  it's  simple  action  could  force  a 
passage  through  Rocks,  in  how  many  places  may  it  be  said 
this  River  has  done  it.  Yet  every  intelligent  man  must  con- 
fess that  the  headlong  current  of  this  River  has  nowhere 
opened  a  passage,  but  everywhere  adapts  its  width  and  depth 
to  the  vallies  and  chasms  (the  Dalles)  of  this  basalt  formation  : 
which  has  been  opened  by  the  Deity.  We  were  now  at  the 
junction  of  the  Shawpatin  River  with  the  Columbia  (by  the 
United  States  named  Lewis  and  Clarke's  River)  a  distance  of 
three  hundred  and  thirty  four  miles  from  the  sea  :  From 
the  above  place  to  the  Ilthkoyape  Falls,  is  four  hundred  and 
three  miles,  the  whole  of  this  distance  we  knew  by  experience 
to  be  little  else  than  a  series  of  heavy  rapids  from  their 
descent,  which  would  occasion  us  heavy  work  and  much 
carrying,  even  if  we  could  ascend  the  River,  which  appeared 
very  doubtful ;  for  altho'  the  water  had  lowered  about  ten 
feet,  yet  it  was  still  high  and  the  low  points  overflowed.  We 
had  passed  one  hundred  and  twenty  Men  at  their  occupation 
of  seineing  Salmon,  and  were  now  at  Lodges  containing  two 
hundred  Men  with  their  families,  they  were  all  of  the  Shaw- 
patin tribe,  and  this  place  their  principal  village,^  they  are  a 
fine  race  of  Men  and  Women  and  with  their  children  very 
cleanly  in  their  persons,  and  we  no  longer  had  to  see  naked 
females,  many  were  well  clothed,  all  of  them  decently  with 
leather,  and  in  cleanly  order,  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  them. 
We  camped  with  them,  and  as  usual  [they]  entertained  us 

1  These  are  the  Sokulks  once  more,  really  Nez  Perces.  Alexander 
Ross  supplements  the  narrative  here  with  an  interesting  note :  "  On  the 
14th,  early  in  the  morning,  what  did  we  see  triumphantly  waving  in  the 
air,  at  the  confluence  of  the  two  great  branches,  but  a  British  flag,  hoisted 
in  the  middle  of  the  Indian  camp,  planted  there  by  Mr.  Thompson  as  he 
passed,  with  a  written  paper  laying  claim  to  the  country  north  of  the  forks, 
as  British  territory  "  {Oregon  Settlers,  p.  128).  Ross  says  that  these  In- 
dians called  Thompson  "  Koo-Koo-Sint,"  which  appears  to  be  a  corrup- 
tion of  the  Salish  word  for  "  star,"  and  probably  meant  "  the  Star  Man." 
£T.  C.  E.] 


FROM  ASTORIA   TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    527 

with  singing  and  dancing  for  an  hour  ;  here  I  traded  a  Horse 
for  my  Indian  Interpreter,  and  otherwise  paid  him  for  his 
services,  and  he  remained  with  his  people.  We  smoked  and 
talked  until  late.  They  were  pleased  with  the  account  of  the 
exertions  we  were  making  to  supply  them  with  the  many 
articles  they  want,  and  the  hopes  of  a  Vessel  with  goods 
coming  by  sea  next  year  :  but  that  at  present  I  must  proceed 
to  the  Mountains  for  Goods  :  all  these  natives  have  the  good 
sense  to  see  that  to  assist  me  is  to  forward  their  own  interests. 
The  junction  of  this  River  with  the  Columbia  is  in  Latitude 
46°.  12'.  15"  N  Longitude  119°.  31'.  33"  West  Variation 
18  degrees  East. 

August  6^^.  We  left  this  friendly  Village  with  hearty 
wishes  for  our  safe  return,  and  ascended  a  strong  current  to 
Noon  on  the  S^^}  The  water  was  high,  the  tops  of  the  Willows 
just  above  water  :  the  width  of  the  River  between  four  and 
five  hundred  yards,  the  land  moderately  high,  the  banks 
sloping,  but  all  sandy,  sterile,  with  coarse  hard  grass  in  round 
tufts,  equally  bare  of  Birds  and  Deer  as  the  lands  we  have 
passed.  We  were  now  at  the  Road  which  led  to  the  Spokane 
River,  having  come  fifty  six  miles  up  this  River ;  we  had 
smoked  at  four  small  Villages  of  whom  we  procured  Salmon 
of  the  lesser  species,  of  about  three  to  five  pounds  weight, 
they  were  well  tasted  and  in  good  condition,  but  to  cook 
them  we  were  still  dependent  on  drift  wood,  for  these  sterile 
grounds  produce  no  Trees.  At  the  Road  was  a  Village  of 
fifty  Men  with  their  families ;  they  were  anxiously  waiting 
our  arrival,  they  had  sung  and  made  speeches  until  they  were 
hoarse,  and  danced  till  they  were  tired  :  we  sat  down  and 
smoked ;   told  the  news,  and  then  informed  them  that  I  had 

^  They  had  now  left  the  Columbia,  and  had  begun  the  ascent  of  the 
Snake  river.  Thompson  had  decided  to  return  to  Spokane  House  over- 
land, instead  of  by  the  slow  river  route  against  the  current,  and  had  sent 
a  messenger  to  Jaco  Finlay  for  horses.  Meanwhile,  he  'continued  in  his 
canoe  up  the  Snake  river  to  the  crossing  of  the  main  trail  leading  north- 
ward.    [T.  C.  E.] 


528      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

to  go  to  the  Mountains  northeastward  of  us,  and  the  course 
of  this  River  being  southward,  I  could  proceed  no  farther  in 
my  canoe  ;  that  my  Men  would  require  horses  to  carry  our 
things  on  our  intended  journey,  for  which  I  would  pay  them 
on  my  return  from  the  Mountains  ;  to  all  that  I  said  they 
listened,  at  times  saying  Oy  Oy  we  hear  you  ;  they  retired 
and  shortly  after  made  me  a  present  of  eight  Horses  and  a 
War  Garment  of  thick  Moose  leather  such  as  I  have  already 
described  :  but  saddles  and  other  furniture,  they  had  none  to 
spare  us  :  and  we  had  to  make  use  of  our  clothes  fc.  these 
purposes. 

On  the  9*''  we  laid  up  the  Canoe  for  future  use,^  it  was 
very  leaky  as  there  being  no  Trees  we  could  procure  no 
Gum  for  the  seams ;  while  we  were  doing  this  the  old  Men 
came  to  us,  and  after  smoking,  said,  the  Chiefs  and  the  Men 
below  us  are  good  people,  but  whatever  they  give  they  expect 
will  be  paid,  but  this  is  not  to  make  a  Present,  which  is  a 
gift  without  payment  such  as  we  have  made  to  you ;  this 
was  all  very  good,  but  I  knew  they  could  not  afford  to  make 
Presents,  and  gave  to  each  Person  who  brought  me  a  Horse, 
for  the  value  of  ten  beaver  skins  in  goods,  payable  at  any  of 
the  trading  Posts,  which  being  explained  to  them,  they  were 
much  pleased,  though  they  could  not  comprehend  how  a  bit 
of  paper  could  contain  the  price  of  a  Horse.  Having  finished 
a  series  of  Observations  I  found  the  Latitude  of  this  place  to 
be  46°  .  36' .  13"  N  Longitude  118°  .  49' .  51"  west,  and  the 
Variation  19  degrees  East.  In  the  afternoon  we  left  this 
place,   and  also    on  the   10''*,  went    north  eastward  twenty 

^  This  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Palouse  river  {"  Drewyer's  River  "  of 
Lewis  and  Clark),  otherwise  styled  by  the  fur-traders  Pavion,  Pavilion,  or 
Flag  river.  It  was  another  established  camping-place  for  the  Nez  Percys. 
Later  it  became  Lyons  Ferry,  the  crossing-place  for  all  travel  between  the 
Walla  Walla  and  Kootenay  and  Colville  and  Spokane  districts,  and  the 
crossing  of  the  first  military  road  surveyed  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment between  the  Columbia  and  the  Missouri.  Thompson  did  not  wait 
for  the  horses  which  Jaco  Finlay  was  to  send,  but  negotiated  a  horse  trade 
against  a  note  in  hand.     [T.  C.  E.] 


FROM   ASTORIA   TO   SPOKANE   HOUSE    529 

eight  miles,  we  crossed  several  Brooks,  and  at  length,  thank 
heaven,  got  clear  of  the  sterile,  sandy  ground  with  wretched 
grass,  of  the  basalt  formation  which  in  this  distance  often 
shows  itself  above  ground  with  many  sharp  splinters  which 
cut  the  feet  of  the  Horses ;  in  taking  my  leave  of  the  Basalt 
Rocks,  I  may  safely  say,  that,  although  I  have  paid  attention 
everywhere,  to  find  some  traces  of  an  igneous  origen,  yet  I 
have  not  found  any,  no  ashes,  no  scoriae,  and  every  spring  of 
water  cold.  For  my  part  I  have  no  belief  in  its  supposed 
origen,  but  believe  that  as  the  Deity  has  created  all  the  other 
various  rocks,  so  he  has  likewise  created  the  several  hundred 
square  miles  of  Basalt  Rocks  of  the  Columbia  River  and 
adjacent  countries.  In  geographical  position  it  appears  to  lie 
about  midway  between  the  Mountains  and  the  Ocean,  and  in 
a  direction  nearly  parallel  to  the  Mountains.  In  the  great 
deserts  of  this  formation  nothing  is  heard  but  the  hissing  of 
the  Snakes,  nothing  seen  but  a  chance  Eagle  like  a  speck  in 
the  sky,  swiftly  winging  his  way  to  a  better  country  :  but 
these  countries  are  free  from  the  most  intolerable  of  all 
plagues,  the  Musketoes,  Sand  and  Horse  Flies ;  they  are  not 
found  in  arid,  and  very  dry  countries.  The  number  of 
Natives  along  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  River  may  be  esti- 
mated at  13,615  souls,  reckoning  each  family  to  average  seven 
souls ;  This  estimation  is  not  above  the  population  ;  the 
manner  in  which  this  estimation  was  made  was  by  counting 
the  number  of  married  men  that  smoked  with  us,  and  also 
that  danced,  for  we  remarked  that  all  the  Men  of  every 
village,  or  lodge  came  to  enjoy  smoking  Tobacco  ;  they  speak 
of  Tobacco  as  their  Friend,  especially  in  distress,  as  it  soothes 
and  softens  their  hardships.  Their  subsistence  appears  to  be 
about  ten  months  on  fresh  and  dried  Salmon,  and  two  months 
on  berries,  roots,  and  a  few  Antelopes  ;  those  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  River,  once  a  year  cross  the  Mountains  to  hunt 
the  Bison,  and  thus  furnish  themselves  with  dried  Provisions 
and  Bison   Robes  for  clothing,  during  which  they  are  too 

2  L 


530     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

frequently  attacked  by  the  Peeagans  and  their  Allies  ;  their 
Horses  stolen  and  some  of  themselves  killed  and  wounded, 
but  as  soon  as  these  Natives  are  armed,  this  warfare  will 
cease. 

On  the  ii'''  we  had  a  complete  change  of  soil,  a  fine  light 
loam,  with  Brooks  and  Pond[s]  of  Water,  bushes  of  willows 
first  made  their  appearance  with  a  number  of  small  birds, 
some  few  singing,  a  few  ducks  were  seen,  then  hummocks  of 
Aspins  ;  the  grass  green  and  tender  on  which  our  Horses  fed 
with  avidity  ;  but  saw  no  Deer.  Having  gone  about  forty 
miles,  we  arrived,  thank  God,  at  the  trading  Post  on  the 
Spokane  River. ^  Provisions  having  fallen  short  and  our  Guide 
assuring  us  we  should  see  no  Deer,  nor  Indians  to  supply  us, 
we  had  to  shoot  a  Horse  for  a  supply. 

^  Spokane  House,  ninety  miles  from  Snake  River  as  the  crow  flies. 
Jaco  Finlay  had  gone  to  meet  them,  but  returned  by  evening.     [T.  C.  E.] 


CHAPTER    XIII 

JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE 

Arrive  at  Ilthkoyape  Falls — Build  a  canoe — Ascend  the  Canoe 
River — Valley  of  the  Canoe  River — Arrival  of  the  farty 
with  supplies — Return  to  the  mouth  of  the  Canoe  River — 
Supplies  sent  to  the  Trading  Posts  of  the  Interior — Cross  to 
the  East  side  of  the  Mountains — Home  of  the  Mammoth — 
Reach  head  waters  of  the  Athabasca  River — Arrive  at 
Columbia  River — Set  out  for  Ilthkoyape  Falls — Reach 
Ilthkoyape  House,  Spokane  House  and  Saleesh  House — 
Peeagans  in  search  of  trading  party — Arrival  of  Mesf^ 
John  George  M'Tavish  and  James  M'^Millan  with  supplies 
— Winter  at  Saleesh  House — Seek  a  place  of  greater  security 
for  a  Trading  Post — Return  to  the  House. 

j4  T  the  House  we  remained  till  the  17%  the  Salmon 
/%  caught  here  were  few,  and  poor.  Several  Indians  of 
A  m.  the  KuUyspell  and  Skeetshoo  tribes  came  to  see  us, 
but  finding  we  had  not  brought  a  supply  of  goods,  they 
returned ;  my  Canadian  Interpreter  spoke  their  language 
fluently,  and  for  hours  they  would  sit  listening  to  all  he 
related ;  frequently  asking  questions  of  explanation,  they 
could  not  well  comprehend  how  the  Salmon  could  live  in 
the  Lake  of  Bad  Water,  as  they  called  the  Ocean  ;  but  since 
he  had  seen  them  come  from  that  Lake  they  beUeved  him  : 
like  all  the  Natives  of  these  countries,  their  greatest  enjoy- 
ment seemed  to  be,  to  sit  smoking  and  listening  to  news. 
On  our  passage  up,  however  busy  the  Natives  were  in  fishing, 

531 


532      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

they  always  gladly  left  their  Nets  to  smoke  and  learn  our 
adventures. 

Being  informed  that  we  were  now  on  our  way  to  the 
Mountains  for  a  supply  of  Goods  for  trade,  they  said  they 
would  take  courage,  and  as  soon  as  the  furr  of  the  animals 
became  good  they  would  apply  themselves  to  hunting.  This 
trading  Post  is  in  Latitude  47  .  47  .  4  N,  Longitude  1 17  .  27  .  1 1 
west.     Variation  19  degrees  East. 

Leaving  this  trading  Post,  to  meet  the  Men  and  Goods, 
which  are  expected  from  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains  we 
had  to  proceed  to  the  Columbia  River,  to  the  Ilthkoyape 
Falls  there  to  build  a  Canoe,  and  ascend  the  River  ;    on  the 
28*^    we  arrived,  having  come  sixty  eight  miles,  over  a  fine 
country  of  open  Woods  and  Meadows  with  Ponds  and  Brooks 
of  Water  ;  ^   all  fit  for  cultivation  and  for  cattle.     We  were 
well   received,    and   with   these   people   were   a    number   of 
Ookanawgan  Indians  and  eight  Men  of  the  Spokane  tribe  : 
they  gave  us  a  dance,  accompanied  with  singing,  regulated 
by  the  old  Men,  each  party  seemed  to  wish  to  outvie  each 
other  in  the  easy  motions  and  graceful  attitudes  of  the  dance, 
in  which  some  of  them  made  use  of  their  Arms,  gently  waving 
them,  keeping  time  to  the  tune  of  the  Song,  which  was  plain- 
tive, and  the  Dance  alternately  advancing  and  retiring.     We 
were  obliged  to  go  about  seven  miles  for  Cedar  Wood,  and 
very  little  of  it  good  for  our  purpose,  and  it  was  the  second 
day  of  September  that  we  finished  the  Canoe  and  were  ready 
to  continue  our  journey.     During  this  time  we  were  visited 
by  parties  from  several  tribes,  all  anxious  to  learn  the  news, 
and  when  they  may  hope  for  my  return  with  goods  for  to 
supply  their  wants,  especially  Guns,  Axes,  and  Knives ;    but 
they  had  no  Provisions  to  trade  with  us  but  a  few  pounds  of 
dried  Salmon,  and  we  had  to  subsist  on  Horse  meat,  which  I 
could  never  relish,  and  contrived  to  maintain  myself  by  shooting 

*  This  was  the  same  road  as  Thompson  had  followed  on  June  18-19 
of  this  same  year.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE     533 

a  few  Ducks  and  Pheasants ;  for  the  Antelopes  were  only  be- 
ginning to  leave  the  hills,  and  I  had  no  ammunition  to  spare. 
Cartier  the  head  Chief  of  the  Saleesh  Indians,  with  about 
twenty  men  of  his  tribe  also  came,  these  people  are  the  frontier 
tribe.  I  strongly  requested  him  to  collect  his  tribe  with 
their  allies,  the  Kootanaes,  Spokane,  and  Skeetshoo  Indians 
who  were  not  far  off.  He  replied.  You  are  well  aware  when 
you  go  to  hunt  the  Bison,  we  also  prepare  for  war  with  the 
Peeagans  and  their  allies ;  if  we  had  ammunition  we  should 
already  have  been  there,  for  the  Cow  Bisons  are  now  all  fat, 
but  we  cannot  go  with  empty  Guns  :  we  do  not  fear  War, 
but  we  wish  to  meet  our  Enemies  well  armed ;  all  this  I 
knew  to  be  true  and  reasonable,  and  reserving  only  a  few 
loads  of  ammunition  I  gave  him  the  rest,  with  a  Note  to 
M""  Finan  M^'Donald  who  was  at  the  Post  on  the  lower  part 
of  the  Saleesh  River,^  to  supply  them  with  all  he  could  spare. 
They  set  off,  with  a  promise  to  meet  me  with  Prcmsions  at 
the  upper  Saleesh  House  in  two  Moons  hence.  !vVhen  we 
had  been  six  days  here,  a  quarrel  arose  among  the  people  of 
this  Village,  in  which  one  man  was  killed,  and  several  of  them 
wounded.  I  wished  to  see  the  manner  in  which  they  treated 
the  dead  :  but  could  not  well  do  it,  as  my  Interpreter  heard 
them  whispering  to  each  other,  anxious  to  know  which  party 
I  should  support,  and  any  attention,  though  from  mere 
curiosity,  would  be  construed  as  favorable  to  the  party  of 
which  he  was,  all  of  which  I  most  carefully  avoided  ;  but  my 
Interpreter  by  pretending  to  be  looking  for  some  trifle  to 
trade,  saw  all  that  passed  ;   the  body  was  .  .  ? 

1  This  was  doubtless  Kullyspell  House.  Finan  McDonald  was  prob- 
ably in  charge  of  this  post ;  but  at  this  time  he,  with  four  men  and  two 
Indians,  was  on  a  trip  up  the  Columbia  river  from  Ilthkoyape  Falls. 
He  went  up  the  river  as  far  as  the  present  town  of  Revelstoke,  and  re- 
turned to  the  falls  on  August  27,  where  Thompson  was  at  that  time. 

*  Two  pages  of  manuscript  are  here  wanting.  In  the  index  prepared 
by  Thompson,  the  contents  of  these  pages  are  given  as  "  The  Dead. 
Columbia.  Strong  current.  Columbia.  Coxe.  Ice."  For  the  itinerary, 
see  pp.  xciv— xcvi. 


534     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

meaning  ;  he  [Coxe]  had  lived  wholly  on  an  Island,  and  knew 
it's  extent,  but  had  no  idea  beyond  it,  as  we  proceeded  up 
the  River,  and  passed  the  great  Branches,  the  stream  became 
lessened,  and  not  so  wide,  as  he  did  not  know  from  what 
cause,  every  day  he  expected  to  get  to  the  end  of  it ;  as  we 
approached  the  cold  increased,  and  the  first  shower  of  snow, 
he  was  for  some  time  catching  in  his  hand,  and  before  he 
could  satisfy  his  curiousity  it  was  melted  :  the  next  morning 
thin  ice  was  formed,  which  he  closely  examined  in  his  hand, 
but  like  the  Snow  it  also  melted  into  water,  and  he  was 
puzzled  how  the  Snow  and  ice  could  become  water,  but  the 
great  Mountains  soon  settled  his  mind,  where  all  became 
familiar  to  him. 

On  examining  every  where  to  find  a  Letter,  or  some  marks 
from  some  of  my  people,  whom  I  expected  here,  nor  from  my 
Iroquois  I  hung  up  a  letter  for  the  latter,  as  I  conceived  the 
Men  with  Goods  had  passed  by  the  Canoe  River,  which  was 
near  the  Road  of  the  Defile,  and  proceeded  up  it's  strong 
current  in  a  valley  of  the  Mountains  in  a  direction  of  N  42°  W 
for  forty  eight  miles,  the  work  of  three  and  a  half  days,  with 
seven  men  in  a  light  canoe  ;  which  was  thirty  one  working 
hours,  being  at  the  rate  of  one  and  a  half  mile  p'  hour,  and 
this  wholly  by  Poles  shod  with  iron  ;  the  paddle  was  no  use 
in  this  very  rapid  current ;  we  often  estimated  it's  descent 
in  many  places  to  be  three  feet  in  forty  yards.  Such  velocity 
of  water  has  always  a  bottom  of  Rock,  or  large  gravel.  This 
River  was  about  thirty  yards  in  width  and  two  feet  in  depth  ; 
the  canoe  drew  only  four  inches  of  water ;  the  Poles  can  be 
used  only  in  shallow  water,  and  in  four  feet  do  not  advance 
much  ;  those  for  a  canoe  are  about  eight  feet  in  length  and 
can  ascend  a  very  strong  current.  The  descent  for  these  forty 
eight   miles  cannot  be  less  than  ten  feet  p'  Mile,^  or  four 

*  The  actual  descent  of  the  Canoe  river  is  about  five  feet  to  the  mile. 
Thompson,  though  accurate  in  his  horizontal  distances,  often  over-esti- 
mated his  vertical  distances. 


JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE     535 

hundred  and  eighty  feet.  Every  person  is  acquainted  with 
the  change  of  velocity  in  streams  swollen  by  heavy  rains  or 
the  melting  of  snow.  I  have  dwelt  longer  on  this  subject 
than  I  intended,  from  the  many  works  I  have  seen  Hmiting 
the  navigation  of  Streams  to  those  that  do  not  exceed  a 
velocity  of  four  miles  p'  hour,  and  a  descent  of  twenty  inches 
p*"  mile ;  this  is  all  right  for  the  heavy  craft  of  Europe,  and 
for  deep  Rivers  ;  it  may  seem  strange,  yet  it  is  strictly  true, 
that  the  streams  from  the  great  Mountains,  in  their  valHes 
are  navigable  to  light  vessels,  and  have  few,  or  no  Falls,  while 
all  those  that  rise  in  hilly  countries  have  many  Falls  which 
have  to  be  passed  by  carrying  places.  Of  such  are  all  the  Rivers 
that  fall  into  the  great  Lakes  of  Canada.  The  valley  of  this 
River  with  it's  stream  diminished  to  a  Brook  is  computed  by 
the  Hunters  to  be  near  one  hundred  miles  in  length,  with  a 
breadth  never  exceeding  one  mile  ;  the  Moose  Deer  and 
Beaver  have  been,  and  are  yet  so  abundant  throughout  this 
Valley,  that  the  Hunters  call  it  the  "  sack  of  Provisions  "  ; 
the  paths  of  the  former,  from  the  low  Hills  on  one  side  cross- 
ing to  the  other  side  are  five  to  six  feet  in  width  and  worn 
a  foot  deep  in  the  ground ;  almost  all  our  Meat,  while  in 
this  quarter,  came  from  this  River. 

The  Beaver  were  very  numerous  ;  and  were  yet  plentiful ; 
the  grand  Nepissing  informed  me  that  in  this  River  he  had 
taken  by  traps  eight  hundred  and  fifty  Beavers  and  should 
pass  his  winter  in  the  Valley  with  two  Iroquois  his  com- 
panions. But  another  year  of  trapping  will  in  a  manner 
exterminate  them,  such  is  the  infatuation  of  this  animal  for 
it's  castorum  :  The  great  difference  of  climate,  and  also  the 
formation  of  the  country  has  changed  in  part,  the  habits  of 
this  animal,  the  mildness  of  the  former  does  not  oblige  them 
to  build  houses  ;  and  the  country  has  few  Lakes,  and  those 
banked  with  rock ;  the  very  unequal  heights  of  water  in  the 
Rivers  could  not  be  provided  against,  for  except  their  houses 
were  built  for  the  lowest  state  of  the  water,  they  would 


536      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NAKRATIVE 

often  be  dry,  and  if  for  this  state  of  the  water,  they  would 
often  be  several  feet  under  water  ;  the  Beaver  therefore  seeks 
the  little  shelter  he  wants  in  the  banks,  the  roots  of  trees, 
and  other  chance  places,  and  prepares  very  little  aspin  young 
trees  for  winter  food,  and  thus  like  other  animals  adapts 
itself  to  the  climate  of  it's  residence. 

As  we  were  sitting  round  our  camp  fire,  at  a  loss  whether 
to  proceed,  or  to  return,  for  a  North  West  course  did  not 
lead  across  the  Mountains,  the  season  was  fast  advancing, 
thank  kind  Providence  two  Men  in  a  small  canoe  came  up  to 
us.  They  informed  us  that  the  day  after  I  hung  up  the  Letter 
they  had  arrived  with  the  Goods  on  Horses  from  across  the 
Mountains  and  were  there  waiting  orders  under  the  charge 
of  M'  William  Henry  ;  this  good  news  was  joyfully  received, 
and  early  the  next  morning  we  were  in  our  canoes,  and  in 
a  few  hours  ran  down  the  forty  eight  miles  we  had  ascended, 
and  came  to  the  Men  and  Goods ;  after  a  gbd  meeting,  we 
found  they  were  making  a  canoe  of  very  bad  Birch  Rind 
which  could  never  be  made  water  tight ;  the  men  left  the 
work,  and  split  out  thin  boards  of  white  cedar  wood,  of  which 
a  canoe  was  made  ;  in  the  meantime  the  canoe  we  had  was 
loaded  with  the  goods,  and  nine  men,^  and  sent  down  the 
Columbia  to  the  Ilthkoyape  Falls  to  the  care  of  M'  Finan 
M*^Donald  for  the  supply  of  the  lower  posts  on  M^Gillivray's, 
the  Saleesh  and  Spokane  Rivers. 

We  had  to  cross  to  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains  for  the 
rest  of  the  goods  and  Provisions,''  the  snow  so  deep  at  the 
height  of  land,  that  with  difficulty  the  Horses  got  through 
it ;    and  in  one  place  they  had  to  pass  the  night  up  to  their 

*  These  men  were  Hamelin,  Mousseau,  I'Amoureux,  Vaudette,  Bereis, 
M6thode,  Canada,  L.  Paquin,  and  Michel  Kinville,  who  was  in  charge. 

"  Having  sent  off  one  loaded  canoe,  they  turned  eastward,  and  on 
September  29,  started  to  cross  the  mountains  for  the  remainder  of  their 
trading  goods.  On  October  4,  they  arrived  at  William  Henry's  camp 
on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains,  where  two  Indians  arrived  with  a  letter 
from  John  McDonald  of  Garth,  asking  them  to  meet  him  at  the  Kootenay 


JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE     537 

bellies  in  snow,  and  the  next  morning  were  so  discouraged  it 
was  some  time  before  we  could  get  them  to  a  steady  walk  : 
but  on  the  13*''  of  October  all  was  completed  and  the  Horses 
sent  back  to  winter  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains.  The 
Thermometer  was  at  +22  and  ice  forming,  and  the  water  in 
the  River  lowering  ;  and  we  had  yet  several  hundred  miles 
to  pass  to  the  most  distant  Post. 

I  now  recur  to  what  I  have  already  noticed  in  the  early 
part  of  last  winter,  when  proceeding  up  the  Athabasca  River 
to  cross  the  Mountains,  in  company  with  .  .  .  Men  and 
four  hunters,  on  one  of  the  channels  of  the  River  we  came 
to  the  track  of  a  large  animal,  which  measured  fourteen 
inches  in  length  by  eight  inches  in  breadth  by  a  tape  Hne. 
As  the  snow  was  about  six  inches  in  depth  the  track  was  well 
defined,  and  we  could  see  it  for  a  full  one  hundred  yards 
from  us,  this  animal  was  proceeding  from  north  to  south.  We 
did  not  attempt  to  follow  it,  we  had  no  time  for  it,  and  the 
Hunters,  eager  as  they  are  to  follow  and  shoot  every  animal 
made  no  attempt  to  follow  this  beast,  for  what  could  the 
balls  of  our  fowling  guns  do  against  such  an  animal.  Report 
from  old  times  had  made  the  head  branches  of  this  River, 
and  the  Mountains  in  the  vicinity  the  abode  of  one,  or  more, 
very  large  animals,  to  which  I  never  appeared  to  give  credence  ; 
for  these  reports  appeared  to  arise  from  that  fondness  for  the 
marvellous  so  common  to  mankind  ;  but  the  sight  of  the  track 
of  that  large  beast  staggered  me,  and  I  often  thought  of  it, 
yet  never  could  bring  myself  to  believe  such  an  animal  existed, 
but  thought  it  might  be  the  track  of  some  monster  Bear. 

On  the  sixth  of  October  we  camped  in  the  passes  of  the 

Mountains,   the   Hunters   there  pointed  out   to   me   a  low 

Mountain  apparently  close  to  us,  and  said  that  on  the  top  of 

Plain  on  the  Saskatchewan  river,  as  he  was  on  his  way  west  with  supphes 
for  them.  The  late  date  of  the  receipt  of  the  letter,  however,  made  it 
impossible  for  them  to  comply  with  his  request  ;  see  note  on  p.  539. 
Henry's  camp  was  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of  the  Miette  river 
at  the  head  of  which  is  Yellowhead  Pass. 


538      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

that  eminence,  there  was  a  Lake  of  several  miles  around 
which  was  deep  moss,  with  much  coarse  grass  in  places,  and 
rushes ;  that  these  animals  fed  there,  they  were  sure  from 
the  great  quantity  of  moss  torn  up,  with  grass  and  rushes  ; 
the  hunters  all  agreed  this  animal  was  not  carnivorous,  but 
fed  on  moss,  and  vegetables.  Yet  they  all  agree  that  not 
one  of  them  had  ever  seen  the  animal ;  I  told  them  that  I 
thought  curiosity  alone  ought  to  have  prompted  them  to  get 
a  sight  of  one  of  them ;  they  replied,  that  they  were  curious 
enough  to  see  them,  but  at  a  distance,  the  search  for  him, 
might  bring  them  so  near  that  they  could  not  get  away  ;  I 
had  known  these  men  for  years,  and  could  always  depend  on 
their  word,  they  had  no  interest  to  deceive  themselves,  or 
other  persons.  The  circumstantial  evidence  of  the  existence 
of  this  animal  is  sufficient,  but  notwithstanding  the  many 
months  the  Hunters  have  traversed  this  extent  of  country  in 
all  directions,  and  this  animal  having  never  been  seen,  there 
is  no  direct  evidence  of  it's  existence.  Yet  when  I  think  of 
all  I  have  seen  and  heard,  if  put  on  my  oath,  I  could  neither 
assert,  nor  deny,  it's  existence  ;  for  many  hundreds  of  miles 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  yet  unknown,  and  through  the 
defiles  by  which  we  pass,  distant  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  from  each  other,  we  hasten  our  march  as  much  as 
possible. 

October  'j^^.  We  came  to  a  scaffold  of  meat  which  the 
hunters  had  made.  Three  of  us  leading  horses  very  carelessly 
approached  it ;  but  quickly  wheeled  about,  as  we  saw  it  in 
possession  of  a  large  Bear,^  who  showed  us  his  paws  and  teeth 
in  proof  that  he  was  the  lawful  owner,  but  not  liking  the 
Horses  he  walked  off,  and  we  quietly  took  what  he  had  left. 
This  day  the  hunters  were  fortunate  in  killing  two  cow  Bisons  ^ 
and  four  Mountain  Sheep,^  all  in  good  condition  ;  we  marched 

^  Doubtless  a  Grizzly  Bear,  Ursus  horribilis  Ord.     [E.  A.  P.] 
*  Bison  bison  (Linn.).     [E.  A.  P.] 
'  Ovis  canadensis  Shaw.     [E.  A.  P.] 


JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE     539 

only  eight  miles  and  camped  to  split  and  dry  the  meat  by 
smoke  :  we  continued  with  much  bad  weather,  hunting  for 
our  livelihood  till  the  13''',  on  which  day  we  arrived  at  the 
Columbia  River  ;  the  next  day  I  sent  Men  with  the  Horses 
to  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains,  where  the  Horses  are  to 
pass  the  winter,  the  grass  there  is  scant  but  there  is  not  much 
snow,  whereas  the  snow  here  in  the  winter  is  very  deep,  and 
the  country  too  rude  to  allow  the  Horses  to  pass  to  where 
there  is  less  snow  and  plenty  of  grass.  We  waited  here  to 
the  21^*  October  in  hopes  of  seeing  the  Canoe  ^  come  down 
the  River  as  I  had  received  a  Letter  informing  me  that  such 
would  be  the  case,  during  this  time  the  weather  became  severe, 
ice  formed  all  along  the  shores  of  the  Rivers,  the  Thermometer 
fell  to  Zero,  and  we  had  near  three  hundred  miles  of  this 
River  to  descend  to  meet  the  Horses  at  the  Ilthkoyape  Falls, 
we  found  ourselves  obliged  to  leave  this  place,  and  having 
hung  up  a  Letter,  on  the  21^'  we  embarked  and  proceeded 
down  the  River,  the  snow  on  the  shores  was  two  feet  in  depth, 
and  deeper  in  the  woods.  In  the  afternoon  on  one  of  the 
dry  shoals  of  the  River  we  came  to  a  herd  of  eight  Rein  Deer,^ 
they  were  not  shy,  and  we  shot  a  good  Doe,  and  might  have 
killed  two,  or  three  more.  The  hunters  often  mentioned  to 
me  that  they  had  seen  Rein  Deer,  but  I  doubted  if  they 
were  of  the  same  species  that  is  found  around  Hudson's  Bay 
and  the  interior  country ;  upon  examination  I  found  no 
diiference  :  the  question  is  from  whence  do  they  come,  as 
they  are  not  known  in  any  part  of  these  countries  except  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Canoe  River,  by  the  head  of  which  they 
probably  have  a  pass  to  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains. 

^  These  were  the  canoes  which  were  being  brought  by  John  McDonald 
of  Garth,  J.  G.  McTavish,  and  James  McMillan  across  the  mountains 
by  the  old  route  at  the  head  of  the  Saskatchewan  river.  They  turned 
southward,  however,  up  the  Columbia  river,  and  McDonald  wintered  at 
old  Kootanae  House,  while  McTa\ash  and  McMillan  met  Thompson  later 
at  Saleesh  House. 

*  Rangifer  montanus  Seton-Thompson.     [E,  A.  P.] 


540     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

On  the  24''*  we  passed  the  two  Narrows,  called  Dalles,^ 
below  the  second,  the  River  expanded,  with  slack  current,  all 
which  for  near  half  a  mile  was  covered  with  snow,  mixed 
with  water,  through  which  we  had  to  force  our  way  with  the 
Poles,  but  it  became  so  compact,  that  we  had  to  carry  the 
last  three  hundred  yards.  It  was  cold  work^  the  snow  on  the 
shore  being  full  two  feet  deep  ;  an  Indian  and  his  family 
came  to  us,  he  had  been  working  Beaver,  when  the  Snow 
became  too  deep  ;  we  enquired  if  the  Snow  was  more  than 
usual,  he  said  he  did  not  know,  as  he  had  never  left  the 
Village  at  this  season,  but  now  many  of  them  would  leave  it 
to  hunt  furrs,  to  trade  with  us.  The  next  day  we  had  to 
carry  four  hundred  yards  on  account  of  the  snow  covering 
the  River ;  we  came  to  some  famihes  who  had  fresh  Salmon, 
but  they  were  very  poor,  necessity  made  them  eatable  :  all 
this  day  the  Snow  as  we  descended  the  River  became  less, 
and  on  the  27""  there  was  none  on  the  shores,  and  very  little 
in  the  woods,  flocks  of  Geese  were  about  us  and  a  few  Ducks, 
to  us  all  most  agreeable. 

On  the  30'''  we  arrived  all  safe  thank  kind  Providence  at 
the  Ilthkoyape  Falls,  and  found  the  Village  wholly  deserted, 
they  had  separated  for  hunting,  to  procure  clothing  of  leather. 
We  had  expected  to  meet  Men  and  Horses  to  convey  the 
goods  across  the  country  to  the  trading  Posts,  but  seeing  no 
person,  the  next  day  we  went  off  on  foot  for  the  Spokane 
house,  and  on  the  third  of  November  we  arrived,^  very  tired 
having  seen  nothing  worth  notice ;  and  having  procured 
Horses  we  proceeded  for  the  place  we  had  left  and  on  the 

*  The  upper  of  these  is  Death  Rapids,  dangerous  of  passage  at  all 
times  of  the  year,  and  on  several  occasions  fatally  so.  The  lower  is 
the  Little  Dalles,  just  above  Revelstoke  ;  and  the  expansion  of  the  river 
is  the  beginning  of  the  Arrow  lakes,     [T.  C.  E.] 

*  As  soon  as  Thompson  arrived  at  Spokane  House,  he  sent  off  a  letter 
to  Finan  McDonald,  who  appears  to  have  been  at  Kullyspell  House, 
to  keep  watch  on  the  Kootenay  river  for  the  canoes  which  were  being 
brought  by  John  McDonald  of  Garth. 


JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE     541 

sixth  arrived  at  the  Columbia.  In  all  our  late  journeys  we 
found  a  great  difference  in  travelHng  to  what  we  had  in 
the  spring  of  the  year,  then  the  Brooks  were  swollen  every 
one  a  torrent  dangerous  to  pass ;  now  every  Brook  we 
could  ford  with  safety  ;  the  water  low,  and  no  overflowed 
ground. 

On  the  evening  of  the  13"*  we  arrived  at  the  Saleesh 
River,^  Geese  and  Ducks  were  about,  the  weather  mild  like 
April,  the  grass  green,  and  everything  as  pleasing  as  this 
month  could  present  :  The  two  Men  I  had  sent  to  the 
Lake  Indians  to  inform  them  of  my  arrival,  returned  and  said 
they  found  them  all  gambling,  and  doing  nothing  else,  and 
left  them  at  the  same  ;  upon  which  I  sent  them  word  that 
if  they  wished  to  procure  Guns,  Kettles,  and  other  articles 
they  must  hunt  and  procure  furrs  and  dry  provisions,  or  they 
would  get  nothing,  it  had  the  desired  effect ;  and  we  pro- 
ceeded by  land  up  this  fine  River.  We  arrived  at  the  Saleesh 
House,2  which  we  found  in  a  ruinous  state,  here  we  learned  our 
steady  enemies  the  Peeagans  had  sent  a  War  Party  to  intercept 
us,  thinking  we  must  pass  by  the  head  of  the  River ;  they 
had  come  on  a  Tent  of  Kootanae  Indians,  and  disregarding 
the  Peace  between  them  had  put  every  one  to  death  ;    such 

1  The  distance  from  Spokane  House  to  the  north  end  of  the  "  Skeetshoo 
Road  "  was  about  seventy-five  miles.  The  trail  ran  eastward,  just  north 
of  the  city  of  Spokane,  to  Rathdrum,  then  north  by  Spirit  lake  to 
Hoodoo  lake  and  to  the  Pend  d'Oreille  river  about  opposite  Laclede 
station  on  the  Great  Northern  Railway.  This  road  was  used  by  Ross 
Cox  on  the  famous  race-horse  Le  Bleu  in  the  spring  of  1813,  when  he 
made  the  distance  in  about  eight  hours  (see  Adventures,  pp.  216-17). 
[T.  C.  E.] 

2  Saleesh  House  was  situated  near  the  south-eastern  end  of  Thompson's 
Prairie  in  Sanders  county,  Montana.  The  river  valley  for  nearly  twenty 
miles  to  the  south-east  is  quite  narrow  ;  and  just  above  the  mouth  of 
Thompson  river,  where  the  hills  close  in  abruptly,  there  is  a  cliff  of  shell 
rock  known  to  the  Indians  as  Bad  Rock.  About  twelve  miles  farther 
up,  the  valley  widens  into  another  prairie  known  to  the  later  fur-traders 
as  the  Horse  Plains,  but  now  designated  by  the  railway  station  called 
Plains.  The  battle-ground  to  which  Thompson  refers  was  on  these 
Horse  Plains.     [T.  C.  E.] 


542     DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

is  the  peace  they  make  :  and  meeting  three  of  the  Iroquois 
hunters,  stripped  them  naked  and  robbed  them  of  all  they 
had.  The  House  was  situated  in  a  small  bay  of  the  river, 
close  to  us  was  a  spur  of  the  hills  which  came  on  the  River 
in  a  cHff  of  about  sixty  feet  in  height,  beyond  which  to  the 
south  eastward  the  country  opened  out  to  a  great  extent  of 
fine  meadow  ground,  the  scene  of  many  a  battle  ;  the  Saleesh 
Indians  with  their  aUies,  when  hard  pressed,  always  made  for 
this  rock  as  their  natural  defence,  and  which  had  always 
proved  a  shield  to  them,  and  [they]  shewed  us,  the  bones 
of  their  enemies  slain  at  different  times  in  attempting  to 
force  this  pass ;  to  me  it  appeared  easy  to  become  master 
of  it,  to  proceed  farther  up  the  River  was  to  be  still  more 
exposed. 

On  the  24'^  we  were  agreeably  surprised  by  the  appear- 
ance of  Mess*"*  John  George  M'^Tavish  *  and  James  M*=Millan 
in  company  with  fifteen  men,  and  ten  horses  carrying  about 
twelve  hundred  pounds  weight  of  merchandize  for  trading 
furrs.^  As  the  season  was  late  an  assortment  of  Goods  to  load 
six  Horses  was  made  up  and  M"  Finan  M'^Donald  having 
fortunately  found  the  Saleesh  Indians  about  twenty  five  miles 
higher  up  the  River,  had  traded  a  large  canoe  load  of  dried 
Provisions,   and  now  also  arrived,  which   enabled  M""  John 

^  John  George  McTavish  was  the  partner  of  the  North- West  Company 
who  negotiated  the  purchase  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  with  McDougall 
at  Astoria  in  the  autumn  of  181 3.  He  now  arrived  by  way  of  the 
"  Kootanae  Road,"  and  estabUshed  his  headquarters  at  Spokane  House. 
He  remained  upon  Columbian  waters  until  at  least  1814;  he  was  one 
of  the  large  party  that  set  off  up  the  river  from  Fort  George  on  April 
4,  1 81 4  (see  Coues,  New  Light,  p.  873).     [T.  C.  E.] 

*  According  to  Thompson's  notes,  these  men  arrived  about  11  A.M. 
on  November  25,  having  left  John  McDonald  of  Garth  at  Koota- 
nae House  on  October  16.  This  was  the  party  that  had  been  sent  from 
Rainy  Lake  House  to  bring  goods  and  supplies  to  Thompson  when  it 
was  learned  that  he  would  not  arrive  with  his  consignment  of  furs  that 
summer.  McTavish  left  for  the  lower  "  settlement  "  on  November  27, 
while  McMillan  and  Finan  McDonald  stayed  with  Thompson  at  Saleesh 
House. 


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JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE     543 

G.  M'^Tavish  and  the  Men  with  the  Horses  and  Goods  to 
proceed  to  the  lower  settlement  on  this  River,  there  to 
winter  and  trade  with  the  Natives.  The  season,  though  late 
continuing  mild  and  open,  M'  Finan  M'^Donald  with  an 
assortment  of  Goods  went  up  the  River  to  trade  provisions, 
and  he  returned  with  all  they  could  spare  ;  all  the  dried 
provisions  are  of  Bison  meat,  and  must  be  carefully  kept  for 
the  voyage  of  next  summer  ;  so  that  for  the  winter  we 
depend  for  subsistence  on  the  Antelopes ;  they  are  in  sufficient 
numbers,  but  the  hunting  is  precarious.  When  the  ground  is 
soft  with  rain  in  the  open  Cypress  Woods  they  are  easily 
approached,  but  sometimes  the  ground  is  white  with  snow 
and  a  slight  frost,  the  tread  of  the  Hunter  is  heard,  and 
approach  is  almost  impossible,  but  when  several  hunters  are 
out,  the  Antelopes  in  running  from  one  Hunter  come  in  the 
way  of  another,  and  are  shot  :  We  continued  repairing,  in 
some  cases  rebuilding  our  Houses,  and  by  the  16*''  December 
we  were  all  under  shelter,  and  strange  to  say,  the  Roofs  kept 
out  the  rain,  but  the  melting  of  a  smart  shower  of  snow 
dropped  through  in  many  places. 

On  the  twentieth  the  Antelopes  ^  became  numerous.  They 
all  came  from  the  lower  part  of  the  River,  the  Snow  having 
become  too  deep  on  the  Basalt  Hills  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Columbia,  through  which  M'^Gillivray's,  the  Saleesh  and 
Spokane  Rivers  pass  in  Falls  and  Cataracts  :  these  Hills  as  I 
have  already  noticed  intercept  the  winds  from  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  receive  all  the  Snow,  which  obliges  all  the  Animals 
to  go  to  the  eastward,  where  there  is  very  little  snow  ;  and 
which  makes  these  countries  the  favorite  resort  of  the  Indians 
and  the  Deer  during  winter.  As  we  were  all  anxious  to  find 
a  place  of  greater  security  for  a  trading  post,^  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  20*'',  with  an  Indian  and  one  Man  with  three  Horses 

1  Deer,  probably  mostly  Odocoileus  hemionus.     [E.  A.  P.] 
»  In  his  notes  Thompson  says  that  it  was  "  in  order  to  remove  our- 
selves further  from  the  Peagans." 


544     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

we  set  oflF  to  examine  the  south  branch  of  this  River,*  the 
confluence  of  which  is  a  few  miles  above  the  House ;  when 
we  had  gone  about  four  miles  we  came  to  the  three  Tents, 
in  one  of  which  was  a  fine  old  Indian  whom  we  had  named 
"  le  bon  Vieux,"  smoking  with  him,  we  explained  the  object 
of  our  journey  ;  looking  at  our  Horses  he  told  us  they  were 
too  poor  for  the  country  of  the  south  Branch,  which  was 
hilly  and  required  strong  Horses,  and  sent  a  young  man  to 
bring  three  of  his  Horses,  which  he  lent  us  for  the  journey  ; 
sending  ours  to  feed  and  rest ;  In  the  afternoon  of  the  next 
day  we  came  to  a  few  Tents,  the  Men  were  all  away  hunting 
the  Deer  by  surrounding  them,  in  the  evening  they  arrived 
with  eight  deer,  they  would  have  killed  a  few  more  if  they 
had  more  Men,  as  they  were  only  twenty  two  Men  and  Lads, 
whereas  thirty  Men  are  required  for  this  mode  of  hunting  ; 
and  although  they  have  several  fine  active  young  women, 
they  are  never  employed  in  hunting,  but  restricted  to  what 
are  considered  feminine  duties.  Having  examined  the  country 
for  full  thirty  miles ;  we  found  the  River  to  be  about  eighty 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  width  about  three  feet 
deep,  and  a  strong  current,  flowing  thro'  a  hilly  country, 
clothed  with  good  short  grass  and  open  woods  of  Cypress 
and  Firs,  with  Aspins  in  the  low  ground,  and  from  the  top 
of  a  HiU  the  country  to  the  south  eastward,  from  whence 
the  River  came,  appeared  the  same  and  hilly  lands,  and  from 
what  we  saw,  the  Hills  came  boldly  on  the  River  and  left  no 
space  of  low  ground  ;  and  on  the  twenty  fourth  we  returned 
to  the  House.  The  weather  was  so  mild  the  Deer  were 
approaching  the  Hills.  Swans,  Geese  and  Ducks  were  in  the 
River  ;  and  we  had  to  send  Men  and  a  Canoe  to  the  great 
Camp   for   Deer,   they   brought   eighteen   Antelopes,   which 

^  About  thirty  miles  south-east  of  the  site  of  Saleesh  House,  the 
Flathead  and  Missoula  rivers  join  together  and  form  the  present  Clark's 
Fork  of  the  Columbia  ;  the  south  branch  to  which  Thompson  here  refers 
is  the  Missoula  river,  or  as  it  is  now  oflScially  known,  the  Clark's  Fork 
river.     [T.  C.  E.] 


JOURNEYS   AROUND   SPOKANE   HOUSE     545 

were  most  welcome.  And  the  rest  of  the  Month  was  spent 
in  hunting,  and  building  a  large  Canoe  of  Cedar  Wood  ; 
and  thus  the  year  closed  thank  God,  with  our  being  all  well, 
notwithstanding  much  exposure  to  the  weather  and  frequent 
want  of  food.  The  lowest  point  of  the  Thermometer  was 
+  0  on  the  17*^  day. 


2  M 


CHAPTER    XIV 

FROM    SALEESH    HOUSE    TO   MONTREAL 

Council  of  peace  between  Peeagans  and  Saleesh  Indians — Council 
among  the  Saleesh  Indians  and  their  allies — War  between 
Saleesh  Indians  and  the  Peeagans — Canadian  Trappers — 
Saleesh  Lake — Peeagans  attack  Fort  on  the  Missisourie — 
Sketches  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — Start  out  for  Lake 
Superior — Horse  and  kettle  stolen  by  an  Indian — Arrive  at 
carrying  place  across  the  Mountains — Height  of  land — 
Reach  Af  William  Henry's  Post  on  the  Athabasca — Arrive 
at  Slave  River — Arrive  at  Isle  a  la  Crosse — Arrive  at 
Cumberland — Arrive  at  Fort  William — Danger  of  the  rest 
of  the  journey  on  account  of  the  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States — Arrive  safe  at  Montreal. 

THE  Peeagans  and  their  allies,  for  these  two  years  past, 
had  been  anxiously  watching  the  progress  of  the 
tribes  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains  in  procuring 
Arms  and  Ammunition,  and  their  boldness  in  hunting  the 
Bison  on  part  of  their  old  lands.  The  Peeagans  were  the 
frontier  and  most  powerful  tribe  and  covered  their  allies  from 
many  [an]  attack  ;  they  were  safe,  and  no  retaliation  could 
be  made  on  them,  the  Peeagans  bore  the  brunt  of  the  war. 
Deeply  sensible  of  this,  five  respectable  Men  had  approached 
the  camp  on  horseback  and  called  to  the  Saleesh  for  five  old 
Men  to  meet  them,  as  they  wished  for  Peace  :  this  was 
accorded,  and  on  meeting,  the  Peeagans  briefly  explained  to 
them,  that  their  people  had  held  a  great  council,  and  were 

desirous  of  making  peace  with  them  and  their  allies,  upon 

546 


FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  MONTREAL   547 

which  they  were  invited  to  the  camp,  a  Tent  provided  for 
them,  into  which  they  entered,  their  Horses  were  taken  to 
pasture,  the  best  of  provisions  set  before  them,  and  smoking 
in  common  pipes  took  place  ;  in  the  meantime  the  Saleesh 
held  a  private  council,  in  which  they  agreed  to  return  the 
answer,  that  they  would  willingly  make  a  sure  peace,  if  it 
could  be  depended  on,  but  the  affair  was  of  too  much  conse- 
quence for  them  to  decide  and  they  must  take  the  sense  of 
their  allies,  at  the  same  time  remarking  that  they  saw  none 
of  their  allies  with  them.  The  Peeagans  replied  our  Allies  do 
more  harm  to  us  than  to  you,  for  on  pretence  of  making  an 
inroad  on  you,  they  often  steal  our  Horses.  And  after  some 
conversation  an  answer  was  to  be  given  at  the  end  of  the 
time  of  one  Moon.  The  evening  passed  away  in  amicable 
enquiries  after  the  wounded  and  the  missing,  particularly 
the  Women  and  children  ;  the  Saleesh  spoke  to  them  that 
the  white  men  had  told  them,  that  it  was  a  disgrace  to  them 
to  kill  Women  and  Children,  and  if  War  should  continue 
they  would  make  prisoners  of  them,  but  not  destroy  them. 
The  next  morning  their  horses  were  brought,  some  dried  Pro- 
visions given  them  and  they  returned.  After  some  consulta- 
tion, messengers  were  sent  to  the  different  tribes  accustomed 
to  hunt  the  Bison  in  company  with  the  Saleesh,  requesting 
them  to  send  some  of  their  Chiefs  to  the  Council  to  be  held 
near  the  House  of  the  White  Men,  to  consider  whether  they 
would  be  for  Peace,  or  continue  the  War.  From  every  tribe 
several  of  the  most  respectable  Men  came,  and  were  now 
assembled ;  of  the  Shawpatins  only  two  came,  but  they  were 
remarkably  fine,  tall,  good  looking,  well  dressed  Men,  they 
said  their  tribe  was  hunting  near  their  enemies  and  could 
spare  no  more,  and  that  they  came  with  the  mouth  of  their 
people.  We  were  invited  to  attend ;  with  Michel  the  Inter- 
preter and  two  men,  we  took  our  place ;  Michel  informed  us 
that  from  the  expressions  he  heard  he  expected  a  severe 
contest  of  opinions ;     The  Saleesh   Chief  spoke  first,  briefly 


548     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

reminding  them  for  what  purpose  they  were  assembled,  to 
allow  the  aged  Men  to  speak  first,  and  each  tribe  to  speak 
truly  the  mouth  of  their  people.  He  then  sat  down  in  his 
place,  next  to  the  old  men,  the  smoking  continued  for  a  few 
minutes  in  silence,  when  an  old  Spokane  throwing  aside  his 
robe  showed  a  breast  well  marked  with  scars,  and  in  a  tone 
of  bitterness,  said.  So  our  enemies  have  proposed  peace,  how 
often  have  they  done  so,  and  whenever  we  trusted  to  their 
mouths,  we  separated  into  small  parties  for  hunting  the 
Bison,  and  in  this  situation  they  were  sure  to  attack  us,  and 
destroy  the  Women  and  children,  who  is  there  among  us 
that  has  not  cut  off  his  hair  several  times,  and  mourned  over 
our  relations  and  friends,  their  [flesh]  devoured,  and  their 
bones  gnawed,  by  Wolves  and  Dogs.  A  state  of  peace  has 
always  been  a  time  of  anxiety,  we  were  willing  to  trust  and 
sure  to  be  deceived  ;  who  is  there  among-  us  all  that  believes 
them  ;  then  waving  his  hand  over  the  old  men,  [he]  con- 
tinued, we  were  foremost  in  the  battle  ;  but  now  we  can 
only  defend  the  Tents  with  the  Women  and  Children.  Do 
as  you  please,  I  now  sleep  all  night,  but  if  you  make  peace  I 
shall  sleep  in  the  day,  and  watch  all  night.  Several  of  the 
old  men  followed,  in  much  the  same  feeling  of  insecurity, 
yet  wishing  for  peace,  if  it  could  be  depended  on  ;  for  they 
were  now  too  old  for  active  warfare  ;  several  from  the  other 
Tribes  all  made  speeches  and  spoke  freely,  yet  calmly  of  the 
line  of  conduct  to  be  followed  by  them,  then  the  Saleesh 
Orator  in  his  usual  flowery,  declamatory  language,  which 
seemed  to  make  no  impression  :  after  some  conversation,  the 
Saleesh  Chief  rose  up,  and  made  a  long,  and  animated  speech, 
following  the  harangues  of  each  Tribe,  and  concluded  by 
saying,  you  all  know  we  are  the  frontier  tribe,  the  enemies 
must  break  thro'  or  elude  us,  before  they  can  attack  you,  it 
is  our  Horses  they  steal,  and  our  Men  that  are  slain  in  battle 
far  more  than  any  other  people,  as  a  proof  of  the  truth  of 
what  I  say,  we  have  now  twenty  Tents  of  Women  who  have 


FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  MONTREAL   549 

no  husbands,  with  their  children,  whose  fathers  are  in  the 
land  of  Spirits,  and  as  many  tents  of  aged  Women  whose 
Sons  have  fallen  in  battle  ;  the  different  speakers  have  all 
noticed  the  arrival  of  the  White  Men  among  us  for  these 
three  years  bringing  us  Gun,  Ammunition  and  shods  of  iron 
for  the  heads  of  our  arrows.  Before  their  arrival  we  were 
pitiful  and  could  not  defend  ourselves,  we  are  as  well  armed 
as  our  enemies,  and  our  last  battle  has  obliged  them  to  give 
up  to  us  great  part  of  our  lands  for  hunting  the  Bison.  Now 
we  do  not  fear  to  war  with  them,  but  it  is  a  hard  life  to  be 
constantly  watching,  and  the  lives  of  our  Women  and  Children 
liable  to  be  destroyed  ;  to  prevent  this  harassed  state  of  life 
I  am  very  willing  to  make  peace,  but  who  are  we  to  make 
peace  with.  It  is  the  Peeagans  only  to  offer  us  peace,  none 
of  their  allies  were  with  them,  and  peace  with  the  Peeagans 
will  not  prevent  their  allies  from  making  war  with  us.  We 
wished  for  Peace,  but  we  do  not  see  how  we  can  obtain  it. 
Let  us  hear  what  the  Chief  of  the  White  Men  says,  he  is  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  people  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Mountains,  his  mouth  is  straight,  he  will  tell  us  who  they 
are,  and  what  can  be  our  hopes  of  peace.  My  reply  was, 
You  are  all  of  the  belief  that  the  Great  Spirit  has  made  the 
ground  to  look  green,  and  hates  to  see  it  red  with  the  blood 
of  Men  and  war  is  the  cause  of  the  ground  being  red  :  the 
enemies  you  have  against  you  are  the  three  tribes  of  the 
Peeagans,  they  have  all  the  same  mouth,  the  next  to  them 
are  the  people  of  the  Rapids,  they  are  on  the  Missisourie, 
eastward  of  those  named  are  the  Susseekoon,  they  are  not 
many,  and  no  one  learns  their  speech,  then  the  Assinikoon, 
they  are  very  numerous,  and  speak  well ;  over  all  these 
people  the  Peeagans  have  no  control,  and  cannot  prevent 
their  making  war  on  you,  so  that  your  making  peace  with 
the  tribe  which  proposes  peace  to  you,  will  not  ensure  your 
being  in  safety  from  the  other  tribes  for  they  do  not  offer 
to  make  peace  with  you  ;   my  advice  is,  that  you  do  not  make 


550      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

peace  with  only  one  Tribe,  and  leave  yourselves  exposed  to 
the  inroads  of  all  the  others,  and  let  your  Answer  [be]  that 
you  claim  by  ancient  rights  the  freedom  of  hunting  the 
Bison,  that  you  will  not  make  War  upon  any  of  them  but  shall 
always  be  ready  to  defend  yourselves  ;  the  Chief  said  my 
advice  was  good  ;  but  the  Men  in  the  prime  of  life,  remarked, 
that  if  they  promised  never  to  make  inroads  on  them,  this 
would  place  the  Tents  of  their  Wives  and  Children  in  safety, 
and  leave  the  Men  to  war  on  whom  they  pleased,  as  their 
Tents  would  be  safe  ;  we  are  now  as  well  armed  as  they  are ; 
while  we  had  no  Guns,  nor  iron  heads  for  our  arrows,  we  had 
to  yield  to  them,  and  were  called  cowards.  We  must  there- 
fore show  ourselves  on  their  lands,  as  they  have  been  seen 
on  our  grounds,  and  for  which  purpose  we  are  ready.  Silence 
ensued  for  a  few  minutes ;  when  the  Chief  again  took  up  his 
speech.  You  have  all  heard  what  has  been  said,  and  from 
the  Chief  of  the  White  Men  we  know  the  names  and  numbers 
of  our  enemies  ;  and  learn  there  can  be  no  hopes  of  peace. 
It  has  been  truly  said,  our  enemies  have  often  been  seen  on 
our  lands  and  have  left  their  marks  in  blood,  we  are  not  now 
as  we  were  then,  and  those  that  are  for  war,  shall  have  a  fair 
field  to  show  themselves  in,  for  in  the  summer  at  the  time 
the  Bull  Bisons  become  fat,  we  shall  then  not  only  hunt 
upon  the  lands  we  claim,  but  extend  our  hunting  on  the 
lands  of  the  Peeagans,  which  will  be  sure  to  bring  on  a  battle 
between  us,  and  you  may  all  prepare  yourselves  for  that  time, 
and  our  answer  to  the  Peeagans  shall  be,  "  that  as  we  are  now, 
such  we  will  remain."  They  all  signified  their  assent  by 
repeated  Oy  Oy  Oy,  and  after  smoking  they  quietly  went  to 
their  Tents.  The  next  day  Messengers  were  sent  to  their 
allies,  to  notify  them  of  what  had  passed,  and  that  war  must 
be  prepared  for.  The  next  day  the  Chief,  the  Orator  and 
some  old  Men,  came  to  the  House  and  discoursed  a  long 
time  ;  their  opinions  were  not  all  the  same,  but  all  came  to 
the  same  conclusion,  that  they  could  not  make  a  peace  that 


FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  MONTREAL    551 

would  place  them  in  safety  and  give  them  the  freedom  of 
hunting  in  small  parties ;  you  see  the  hearts  of  our  men  are 
sore.  We  have  suffered  so  much  from  those  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Mountains  that  we  must  now  show  ourselves  to  be  men, 
and  make  ourselves  respected,  we  shall  muster  strong,  but 
although  the  Shawpatins  are  many  and  good  Warriors,  they 
cannot  send  many  men  to  our  assistance,  as  they  are  the 
frontier  tribe  on  the  south,  and  next  to  them  is  the  great 
tribe  of  the  Snake  Indians  of  the  Straw  Tents,  who  are  their 
enemies.  We  advised  them  to  be  cautious,  saying  you  cannot 
aiford  to  lose  many  men,  and  you  have  already  about  forty 
Tents  of  Widows  and  aged  Women  to  maintain.  Time 
passed  on.  August  came,  when  the  Bull  Bisons  are  fat.  The 
Chief  kept  his  word,  and  at  the  appointed  time  a  strong 
party  was  formed,  and  marched  to  the  hunting  of  the  Bison. 
With  these  people  when  they  went  on  the  Bison  grounds  two 
or  three  men  were  sent  to  assist  the  Chief  in  encourageing 
them  to  make  dried  provisions,  and  do  what  they  could  to 
prevent  gambling,  in  which  they  lose  much  time,  the  two 
Men  now  sent  were  Michel  Bourdeaux  the  Interpreter,  and 
Michel  Kinville  who  also  spoke  the  language,  they  were  the 
sole  survivors  of  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  free  hunters  * 
almost  all  of  them  of  french  origen  ;  the  hunting  was  carried 
on  with  cautious  boldness  into  the  lands  of  their  enemies, 
this  insult  brought  on  a  battle  ;  the  Saleesh  and  their  allies 
had  chosen  their  ground,  on  a  grassy  ridge  with  sloping 
ground  behind  it.  Horses  were  not  brought  into  action,  but 
only  used  to  watch  each  others  motions  ;  the  ground  chosen 
gave  the  Saleesh  a  clear  view  of  their  enemies,  and  concealed 
their  own  numbers.  The  action  was  on  the  green  plains,  no 
Woods  were  near  ;    the  Peeagans  and  their  alHes  cautiously 

^  This  number  must  be  taken  as  approximate,  and  applicable  to 
free-hunters  of  either  Algonquin,  Iroquois,  or  mixed  blood  that  had 
been  killed  by  the  Piegan  or  Blackfeet  during  Thompson's  acquaintance 
with  the  tribe.     [T.  C.  E.] 


552      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

advanced  to  the  a1;tack,  their  object  being  to  ascertain  the 
strength  of  their  enemies  before  they  ventured  a  general 
attack,  for  this  purpose  they  made  slight  attacks  on  one  part 
of  the  line,  holding  the  rest  in  check,  but  no  more  force  was 
employed  against  them  than  necessary,  thus  most  of  the  day 
passed.  At  length  in  the  afternoon,  a  determination  was  taken 
to  make  a  bold  attack  and  try  their  numbers.  Every  pre- 
paration being  made,  they  formed  a  single  line  of  about  three 
feet  from  each  other,  and  advanced  singing  and  dancing,  the 
Saleesh  saw  the  time  was  come  to  bring  their  whole  force 
into  line,  but  they  did  not  quit  their  vantage  ground ;  they 
also  sung  and  danced  their  wild  war  dance  ;  the  Peeagans 
advanced  to  within  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  the 
song  and  the  dance  ceased,  the  wild  war  yell  was  given,  and 
the  rush  forward  ;  it  was  gallantly  met,  several  were  slain  on 
each  side,  and  three  times  as  many  wounded,  and  with  diffi- 
culty the  Peeagans  carried  off  their  dead  and  wounded  and 
they  accounted  themselves  defeated  :  In  the  assault  both 
Michel  Bourdeaux  and  Michel  Kinville  were  shot  dead. 
They  were  the  last  of  those  free  hunters.  I  deeply  regretted 
them.  I  found  them  brave  faithful  and  intelligent.  The 
combatan[t]s  were  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  on  each  side, 
the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  made  them  withdraw  to  where 
they  coulJ.  hunt  in  safety.  War  in  the  open  plains  between 
the  Natives  is  very  different  from  War  in  the  woods ;  in  the 
former  they  act  as  a  body  in  concert  in  all  their  movements, 
in  the  Woods  it  is  almost  Man  to  Man. 

Christmas  and  New  Years  days  came  and  passed.  We  could 
not  honour  them,  the  occupations  of  every  day  demanded  our 
attentions ;  and  time  passed  on,  employed  in  hunting  for  a 
livelihood.  On  the  15*^  January  the  ground  was  entirely 
bare  of  snow  even  on  part  of  the  Hills,  and  the  rest  of  the 
month  had  many  rainy  days ;  Swans  were  numerous,  and 
many  flocks  of  Geese  with  a  few  Ducks. 

In  February  with  an  Indian  and  a  Man  I  examined  the 


FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  MONTREAL    553 

country  to  the  south  eastward,^  it  was  hilly,  with  sufficient 
woods  of  Aspin  Cypress  and  some  Pines  and  Firs  with  Cedar 
in  places,  having  several  Brooks  of  good  water  will  become  a 
line  country  for  raising  Sheep,  Cattle  and  Horses.  A  few 
days  afterwards  we  made  an  excursion  to  the  Saleesh  Lake, 
and  beyond  it,  the  Lake  is  a  fine  sheet  of  water  of  about  twenty 
miles  in  length  by  three  to  four  miles  in  width ;  the  haunt 
in  all  seasons  of  aquatic  fowl,  the  country  around  especially 
to  the  eastward  and  southward  for  many  miles  very  fine,  and 
will  become  a  rich  agricultural  country,  for  which  its  mild 
climate  is  very  favorable  ;  on  the  fine  grounds  many  battles 
have  been  fought,  the  bones  of  the  slain  mark  the  places. 
These  meadows  are  admirably  adapted  for  hunting  the  Ante- 
lope by  surrounding  them,  but  this  mode  is  not  attempted 
with  the  Red  Deer,  they  are  too  bold  to  be  encircled,  though 
frequently  driven  over  high  steep  banks  ;  it  was  from  about 
the  Lake  most  of  our  winter  provisions  came.  At  the  end  of  the 
month  several  Indians  of  a  Tribe  we  had  [not]  yet  seen  came 
to  trade,  they  informed  us,  that  near  the  time  of  one  Moon  past 
the  Meadow  Indians  (the  Peeagans  and  their  Allies)  had 
attacked  a  Fort  built  at  the  head  of  the  south  branch  of  the 
Missisourie  River  ;  the  account  they  gave  was  that  a  number 
of  free  hunters  ^  had  come  up  the  Missisourie  River  to  trap 
Beaver  and  proceed  to  the  Snake  Indian  country,  but  that 
tempted  by  hunting  the  Bison,  and  making  dried  provisions 
they  had  built  a  Fort  on  the  above  River,  and  had  been 
successful  in  trapping  Beaver  and  hunting  ;  they  had  extended 
their  hunting  excursions  beyond  the  bounds  of  prudence,  and 
their  shots  had  been  heard  by  the  Indians  of  the  Plains,  these 

*  For  Thompson's  travels  this  winter,  see  itinerary. 

2  The  identity  of  this  party  of  American  trappers  cannot  be  ascertained. 
Andrew  Henry  and  his  party  were  on  the  Upper  Missouri  that  winter, 
after  spending  the  winter  of  1810-11  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Snake 
river.  Other  traders  came  up  from  Lisa's  Fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Horn  river  in  eastern  Montana.  The  southern  branch  of  the  Missouri 
would  naturally  be  taken  to  be  the  Yellowstone.     [T.  C.  E.] 


554      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

ever  watchful  people  ever  alive  to  what  is  passing  soon  found 
by  their  scouts,  that  a  strong  house  was  built  on  their  lands ; 
they  had  for  several  years  been  hostile  to  the  Trappers  who 
destroyed  the  Beaver  on  their  lands  and  had  shot  several  of 
them,  for  the  loss  of  the  Beaver  deprived  them  of  the  means 
of  supplying  by  trade  their  wants ;  they  formed  a  strong 
party  and  approached  the  fort,  they  first  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  port  holes  of  the  bastions,  and  then  cut  down 
two  of  the  Stockades,  but  was  prevented  from  entering  by  a 
heavy  fire  from  the  house,  the  battle  continued  for  some  time 
and  the  Meadow  Indians  retired  ;  my  informant  said  he  had 
lately  been  there,  and  found  [entry  to]  the  House  through  the 
door  and  the  windows  marked  by  many  round  balls,  and  the 
Stockades  with  very  many  rifle  balls ;  these  Men  had  ten 
killed  whom  they  buried  in  a  pit  which  they  filled  with  stones 
and  set  a  single  Cross  on  it ;  they  then  retreated  to  the  camp 
of  the  Snake  Indians,  where  they  arrived  in  a  famished  state. 
He  knew  nothing  of  their  wounded  ;  nor  the  loss  of  the 
Meadow  Indians,  they  had  taken  [them]  away  to  the  perogues, 
four  of  them  he  described  as  long  and  about  five  feet  in  width, 
in  which  the  Indians  descended  the  River.  All  these  free 
Hunters  come  infatuated  with  the  idea  that  the  Indians  are 
cowards,  and  that  they  themselves  are  the  bravest  of  men, 
for  which  they  have  dearly  paid. 

For  these  four  years  I  have  occasionally  sketched  off 
various  parts  of  the  bold,  lofty  scenery  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains about  twenty  different  views,  part  on  each  side  of  the 
Mountains,  and  also  Mount  Nelson,  which  stands  alone  in 
native  grandeur,  I  believe  the  only  drawings  that  have  been 
made  of  these  Mountains,  but  North  America  being  an 
obscure  part  of  the  world,  especially  the  interior  of  Canada 
they  would  not  pay  a  lithographic  pubhcation ;  By  the 
13***  March  the  season,  apparently  was  sufficiently  advanced 
to  hope  that  we  should  have  a  safe  voyage  to  Lake  Superior, 
there  to  exchange  the  Furrs  for  Merchandize  ;    and  praying 


FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  MONTREAL    555 

good  Providence  to  protect  us,  we  embarked,  and  went  down 
the  Saleesh  River  to  the  carrying  place  road,  to  the  Columbia 
River,  over  this  Road  the  cargoes  of  the  canoes  were  trans- 
ported hy  Horses  :  ^  on  the  30""  early  we  perceived  a  small 
Kettle  and  one  of  our  best  horses  had  been  stolen  by  a  young 
man  ;  the  same  day  we  came  to  three  Tents,  and  to  the  Men 
related  what  had  happened,  remarking  to  them,  this  was  the 
first  theft  we  had  known  among  them  ;  they  appeared  much 
hurt  at  a  theft  being  committed  by  any  of  their  people,  and 
said  he  had  acted  very  badly,  the  Horse  and  Kettle  were  not 
their  property  and  they  could  not  take  them  from  him,  but 
would  show  us  his  Tent ;  in  the  evening  we  camped,  and  two 
Men  came  to  us  and  staid  all  night.  Early  in  the  morning  I 
sent  two  Men  with  the  two  Indians  who  guided  the  Men 
to  the  Tent  but  did  nothing  more,  the  Men  made  him  give 
up  the  Horse  and  the  Kettle,  and  gave  him  a  few  kicks  to 
disgrace  him  ;  the  Natives  who  heard  of  this  theft  thought 
it  a  disgrace  to  the  tribe  but  never  thought  they  had  a  right 
to  punish  it,  that  belonged  to  the  injured  person,  or  party. 

Up  to  the  22""^  of  April  ^  we  had  been  employed  in  carry- 
ing all  the  Furrs,  Provisions  and  Baggage  to  the  Ilthkoyape 
Falls  of  the  Columbia  River,  and  building  two  Canoes  of 
Cedar  boards,  and  two  of  Birch  Rind,  which  with  the  two 

^  That  is,  they  went  by  canoes  all  the  way  from  Thompson's  Prairie 
down  Clark's  Fork  and  across  Pend  d'Oreille  lake  and  down  Pend  d'Oreille 
river  to  the  Skeetshoo  Road  ;  then  by  horses  to  Kettle  Falls  by  way  of 
Spokane  House.     [T.  C.  E.] 

^  In  his  note-books  at  this  point,  Thompson  gives  the  record  of  a 
rough  survey  of  a  route  from  Ilthkoyape  Falls  up  Ilthkoyape  Brook 
(Kettle  river),  across  to  Osoyoos  lake,  up  the  river,  through  Okanagan 
lake,  across  country  to  the  Shewap  (Shooswap)  river,  and  down  this 
river  to  the  Shewap  village,  in  latitude  51°  67'  N.,  longitude  119°  48'  W. 
There  is  no  statement  as  to  who  made  the  survey  ;  but  as  Thompson 
obtained  the  survey  of  the  Fraser  river  from  John  Stuart  it  is  probable 
that  this  survey  was  also  made  by  Stuart,  doubtless  in  1813,  when  he 
was  on  his  way  from  Harmon's  Post  on  Stuart's  lake  to  join  J.  G. 
McTavish  on  the  Columbia  river.  Evidence  of  this  survey  may  be  seen 
on  Thompson's  map. 


556      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Canoes  left  here,  placed  six  Canoes  at  our  service.  On  the 
22°*^  two  of  the  Canoes  were  loaded  with  twenty  five  packs, 
two  with  twenty  packs,  each  and  two  with  sixteen  packs,  in 
all  one  hundred  and  twenty  two  packs,  each  weighing  ninety 
pounds  ;  and  each  canoe  three  hundred  pounds  of  dried 
provisions,  with  five  men  to  each  Canoe,  to  proceed  up  the 
Columbia  River  to  the  carrying  place  leading  across  the 
Mountains.  We  had  hoped  that  we  should  find  the  shores 
of  the  River  clear  of  Snow,  but  on  the  28"',  we  found  the 
snow  six  inches  in  depth,  and  the  next  day,  the  snow  in- 
creased to  four  feet  in  depth,  and  so  solid  that  we  sank  only 
about  four  to  six  inches  when  walking  on  it,  and  although 
the  weather  was  mild,  yet  such  a  depth  of  snow  was  dis- 
heartening, for  after  a  hard  day's  work,  we  had  to  lie  down 
on  the  snow,  our  feet  and  legs,  benumbed  by  leading  the 
canoes  up  the  rapids  ;  but  there  was  no  help  we  had  to  march 
on.  On  the  fifth  of  May  we  arrived  at  the  Mountain  Carry- 
ing Place  ;  ^  a  light  Canoe  and  five  men  had  come  down  the 
River  to  help  us,  here  I  left  the  Canoes  to  dry  the  Packs  of 
Furrs  and  get  everything  in  good  order  to  cross  the  Mountains 
so  soon  as  the  Snow  permitted  ;  having  made  for  ourselves 
Bears  Paws,  which  are  rough  made  snow  shoes  round  at  each 
end,  with  three  hunters  [I]  set  off  to  cross  the  Mountains  to 
the  east  side.  These  hunters  informed  me,  that  although  the 
Columbia  River  had  no  Beaver,  yet  all  the  Brooks  and  Streams 
that  flowed  into  the  River  had  many  Beavers.  On  the  8'*"  at 
noon  we  gained  the  height  of  land,  having  with  great  labor 
ascended  the  hills  which  were  under  deep  snow,  mixed  with 
icicles  from  the  dropings  of  the  Trees,  which  made  very 
severe  walking  ;  a  short  distance  after  we  began  our  ascent 
we  crossed  a  Brook  where  the  Beavers  had  been  walking  on 

^  This  was  Boat  Encampment,  the  western  end  of  the  trail  across 
Athabaska  Pass.  Thompson  thus  opened  in  person  the  trade  route  up 
the  Columbia  river  and  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  with  a  large  ship- 
ment of  furs  for  the  Montreal  market.     [T.  C.  E.] 


FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  MONTREAL    557 

the  snow,  one  of  them  had  been  surprised  and  destroyed  by  a 
Wolverene.  On  the  east  side  we  had  made  a  hoard  of  Meat, 
on  which  we  depended  for  a  supply  but  found  it  broken  up, 
and  the  Meat  destroyed  by  a  large  grizled  Bear,  and  we  had 
to  march  on  without  provisions.  The  mild  weather  causes 
heavy  avalanches  of  Snow  in  the  Mountains,  which,  thank 
Good  Providence  we  escaped.  At  the  height  of  land,  where 
we  camped  in  January  last  year  and  where  my  Men  expressed 
their  fears  of  an  avalanche  coming  on  them,  and  which  then 
appeared  to  me  not  likely  to  happen  from  the  direction  I 
supposed  they  would  take,  we  found  an  avalanche  had  taken 
place,  and  the  spot  on  which  we  then  camped  was  covered 
with  an  avalanche,  which  had  here  spent  its  force,  in  heaps 
of  snow  in  wild  forms  round  which  we  walked.  On  the 
ii""  May,  early  the  Men  sent  forward  arrived  with  three 
Horses  which  relieved  us  of  carrying  our  baggage,  and  the 
same  day  [we]  arrived  at  the  House  of  M"^  William  Henry, 
who  had  everything  in  good  order. 

We  now  set  to  work  to  get  a  Canoe  ready,  making  paddles, 
poles  and  [collecting]  Gum  for  the  Voyage,  but  having  no 
provisions  and  sick  of  horse  meat,  sent  off  the  Hunters,  who 
brought  four  sheep,  an  animal  peculiar  to  these  Mountains, 
and  by  the  Americans  named  Big  Horn.  This  was  enough 
for  our  present  supply,  and  being  now  on  the  lands  of  the 
Bison  and  Red  Deer,  we  trusted  to  our  Guns  for  a  future 
supply  :  agreements  were  made  with  the  Hunters  to  supply 
the  people  with  meat  at  the  rate  of  the  value  of  three  beaver 
skins  for  a  Bison  or  Red  Deer  in  such  articles  as  they  wanted. 
On  the  13'''  we  embarked  on  our  voyage  to  Fort  William  on 
Lake  Superior  ;  on  the  20'''  we  arrived  at  the  sortie  of  the 
Slave  River  into  this,  the  Athabasca  River  ;  having  come 
before  a  strong  current  340  miles ;  the  lower  we  proceed  the 
more  the  country  is  just  clearing  from  winter,  a  few  willows 
budding,  tolerable  days,  but  keen  frosty  nights  ;  we  were 
much  delayed  by  the  floating  ice  in  the  River,  and  as  usual 


558     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

lost  time  in  taking  Observations  for  Latitude,  Longitude  and 
the  Variation  of  the  Needle  whenever  the  weather  per- 
mitted ;  continuing  our  voyage  by  the  early  part  of  June  we 
had  shot  many  Swans,  Geese  and  Ducks.  On  examining  them, 
very  few  had  eggs  in  them  ready  to  lay,  whereas  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Mountains  all  these  Fowl  had  their  nests  made, 
and  were  sitting  on  their  eggs  in  the  very  early  part  of  March  ; 
which  proves  that  in  every  respect,  the  climate  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Mountains  is  full  three  months  in  advance  of  the 
climate  on  the  east  side.*  On  the  fourth  of  June  we  put 
ashore  to  hunt  and  killed  two  Bison  Bulls.  I  have  already 
remarked  that  all  the  Bisons  that  take  to  the  Woods,  become 
much  larger  than  those  of  the  plains,  these  were  so,  their 
horns  from  tip  to  tip  measured  two  feet,  and  on  the  curve 
twenty  eight  inches,  and  when  fat  [they]  must  weigh  at 
least  two  thousand  pounds.'' 

On  the  evening  of  June  6""  we  arrived  at  the  old  trading 
Post  of  Isle  a  la  Crosse,  famous  for  it's  fine  White  Fish,  which 
is  a  Fish  peculiar  to  the  northern  Lakes  of  this  Continent  ; 
only  part  of  this  Lake  was  open  ;  from  the  Beaver  River  a 
short  distance,  of  this  part  the  ice  on  the  shore  was  three  feet 
thick,  the  weather  cold  to  shivering  ;  one  of  my  poor  fellows 
remarked,  that  we  had  been  travelling  from  the  beginning 
of  March  to  part  of  June,  and  were  more  deeply  in  winter 
than  when  we  began  the  Voyage.     The  great  difference  in 

^  This  statement  is  much  exaggerated.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is 
very  little  difference  in  the  time  of  nesting  on  the  east  and  west  side  of 
the  mountains.     [E.  A.  P.] 

2  A  northern  race  of  the  bison  has  been  separated  as  a  sub-species 
under  the  name  Bison  bison  athabasccB  Rhoads,  the  type  being  taken 
from  the  country  immediately  south  of  Great  Slave  lake,  where  herds 
aggregating  a  few  hundreds  still  exist.  Before  northern  specimens  had 
been  examined  by  mammalogists,  the  animal  had  been  extirpated  over 
most  of  its  former  habitat,  so  that  the  exact  limits  of  range  of  the  northern 
race  will  never  be  known.  In  view  of  Thompson's  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  bison  of  the  plains,  his  statement  that  the  two  here  killed  were 
of  the  woodland  form  is  thus  of  distinct  scientific  value.  The  locality  was 
on  Beaver  river,  in  latitude  54°  18'  N.,  longitude  109°  W.     [E.  A.  P.] 


FROM  SALEESH  HOUSE  TO  MONTREAL    559 

climate  struck  me  very  forcibly  ;  especially  on  the  future 
cultivation  of  these  countries  ;  yet  this  very  place,  a  few  days 
after  the  ice  has  left  the  Lake  has  a  fine  warm  summer  ; 
Barley,  Oats,  and  sometimes  Wheat  come  to  maturity,  and 
good  gardens  of  all  the  common  vegetables ;  for  the  Lake 
moderates  the  frosts  and  cold  of  Autumn  :  Between  fifty 
and  sixty  small  Canoes  of  Chepawyans  were  here.  These 
people  have  worked  their  way  from  the  rocky  regions  of  the 
cold  North,  southerly  to  this  place.  This  present  race  have 
learned  to  build  small  Canoes  of  Birch  Rind,  and  almost 
every  way  imitate  their  neighbours  the  Nahathaway  Indians ; 
who  are  also  progressing  to  the  southward.  We  waited  three 
days  for  the  ice  to  break  up  and  give  us  a  free  passage,  which 
took  place  late  on  the  ninth  ;  and  early  on  the  tenth,  in 
company  with  nine  loaded  Canoes  each  carrying  twenty  five 
packs  of  Furrs,  each  weighing  ninety  pounds.  On  the 
thirteenth  we  went  among  some  low  grassy  islets  in  hope  of 
finding  eggs,  the  nests  were  mostly  made,  but  as  yet  no  eggs 
laid.  On  the  evening  of  the  seventeenth  we  had  the  first 
Musketoes,  the  intolerable  plague  and  curse  of  all  the 
countries  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mountains,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  next  day,  thank  Good  Providence  we  arrived 
safe  at  Cumberland  House.  From  hence  to  Lake  Superior 
has  been  already  described.  On  the  twelfth  of  July  we  arrived 
at  Fort  William,  the  trading  depot  of  the  North  West  Com- 
pany. Here  we  had  a  respite  in  some  manner  from  the 
torment  of  Musketoes  and  Midges  :  much  as  I  suffered,  the 
Men  suffered  still  more,  they  had  to  bear  them  and  work 
hard,  and  at  night  got  no  sound  sleep  ;  smoke  was  of  no 
avail  against  them,  they  could  bear  more  than  we  could.  On 
the  fifteenth  a  vessel  arrived  with  the  news  that  War  had 
been  declared  by  the  United  States,  against  Great  Britain 
and  we  were  warned  to  be  on  our  guard  ;  this  made  us  all 
look  very  serious,  for  the  whole  returns  of  the  Company  were 
yet  here,  getting  ready  to  be  sent  to  Montreal ;    everything 


560     DAVID  THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

was  expedited  every  exertion  made  to  get  the  Furrs  sent  off, 
in  which  we  were  well  seconded  by  the  Men,  who  alarmed 
at  the  chance  of  being  made  prisoners,  and  thus  deprived  of 
seeing  their  families  and  enjoying  their  wages  were  most 
anxious  to  arrive  at  Montreal :  we  had  only  a  short  distance 
to  dread  being  captured,  being  the  Falls  of  S*  Maries  and  the 
Straits  to  Lake  Huron,  once  in  this  Lake  we  held  ourselves 
to  be  safe,  by  passing  to,  and  down,  the  Ottawa  River ;  in 
which  thank  good  Providence  we  succeeded,  and  by  the 
middle  of  August  with  the  Men  and  Furrs  we  were  safe  in 
Montreal. 


LIST   OF    WORKS    CITED 

Ballantyne,  Robert  M. 

"  Hudson's  Bay,  or  Every-day  Life  in  the  Wilds  of  North  America, 
during  Six  Years'  Residence  in  the  Territories  of  the  Honourable  Hudson's 
Bay  Company."    Edinburgh,  1848.    Pp.  x,  328. 

BiGSBY,  John  J. 

"The  Shoe  and  Canoe,  or  Pictures  of  Travel  in  the  Canadas."  Two 
vols.    London,  1850.     Pp.  xv,  352  ;  viii,  346. 

Bryce,  George. 

"  Mackenzie,  Selkirk,  Simpson."  (Makers  of  Canada  Series.)  Toronto, 
1910.     Pp.  305. 

Burpee,  Lawrence  J. 

"  The  Search  for  the  Western  Sea :  the  Story  of  the  Exploration  of 
North- Western  America."    Toronto  [1908].    Pp.  Ix,  651. 

Chittenden,  Hiram  Martin. 

"  The  American  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West :  a  History  of  the  Pioneer 
Trading  Posts  and  Early  Fur  Companies  of  the  Missouri  Valley  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  of  the  Overland  Commerce  with  Santa  Fe."  Three 
vols.    New  York,  1902.    Pp.  xxv,  1029. 

Cook,  James. 

"  A  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  undertaken  by  the  command  of  His 
Majesty  for  making  Discoveries  in  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  performed 
under  the  direction  of  Captains  Cook,  Clerke,  and  Gore  in  His  Majesty's 
ships  the  Resolution  and  Discovery,  in  the  years  1776,  1777,  1778,  1779, 
and  1780."    Three  vols.    London,  1784.     Pp.  xcvi,  421 ;  548  ;  564. 

CouES,  Elliott  (Ed.). 

"  New  Light  on  the  Early  History  of  the  Greater  Northwest :  The 
Manuscript  Journals  of  Alexander  Henry,  Fur  Trader  of  the  North-West 
Company,  and  of  David  Thompson,  Official  Geographer  andvExplorer  of  the 
same  Company,  1799-1814."  Three  vols.  New  York,  1897.  Pp.  xxviii, 
1027, 

S^^  2   N 


562      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

CoX;  Ross. 

"  The  Columbia  River ;  or  Scenes  and  Adventures  during  a  Residence 
of  Six  Years  on  the  Western  Side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  among  Various 
Tribes  of  Indians  hitherto  unknown,  together  with  a  Journey  Across  the 
American  Continent,"    Two  vols.    London,  1832.    Pp.  xx,  233 ;  vi,  350. 

Day,  Elsie. 

"  An  Old  Westminster  Endowment."  {Journal  of  Education,  September, 
1885,  pp.  1-14.) 

Elliott,  T.  C. 

"  Peter  Skene  Ogden,  Fur  Trader."  {Quarterly  of  the  Oregon  Historical 
Society,  vol.  xi,  pp.  229-278.) 

Franchere,  Gabriel. 

"  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America  in  the  Years 
1811,  i8i2,  1813,  and  1814;  or,  The  First  American  Settlement  on  the 
Pacific."  Translatedandeditedby  J.  V.Huntington.  New  York,  Redfield, 
1854.    Pp.376, 

Franklin,  Sir  John, 

"  Narrative  of  a  Second  Expedition  to  the  Shores  of  the  Polar  Sea,  in 
the  years  1825,  1826,  and  1827,  with  Appendix."  London,  1828.  Pp. 
xxiv,  319 ;  clvii, 

Harmon,  Daniel  Williams. 

"  A  Journal  of  Voyages  and  Travels  in  the  Interiour  of  North  America, 
between  the  47th  and  58th  Degrees  of  North  Latitude,  extending  from 
Montreal  nearly  to  the  Pacific  Ocean."    Andover,  1820.    Pp.  xxiii,  432. 

Hearne,  Samuel. 

"A  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales's  Fort  in  Hudson's  Bay  to  the 
Northern  Ocean  in  the  years  1769,  1770,  1771,  and  1772."  London,  1795. 
Pp.  xliv,  458. 

Palliser,  John. 

"  The  Journals,  Detailed  Reports,  and  Observations  relative  to  the 
Exploration,  by  Captain  Palliser,  of  that  portion  of  British  North  America 
which  in  latitude  lies  between  the  British  Boundary  Line  and  the  height 
of  land  or  watershed  of  the  Northern  or  Frozen  Ocean  respectively,  and  in 
longitude,  between  the  Western  Shore  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean  during  the  years  1857,  1858,  1859,  and  i860."  London,  1863. 
Pp-  325* 


LIST   OF   WORKS    CITED  563 

Irving,  Washington. 

"  Astoria ;  or,  Enterprise  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains."  London, 
1839.    Pp.  440. 

LiNDSEY,  Charles. 

"An  Investigation  of  the  Unsettled  Boundaries  of  Ontario."  Toronto, 
1873.    Pp.  250. 

Mackenzie,  Alexander. 

"  Voyages  from  Montreal  on  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  through  the 
Continent  of  North  America,  to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific  Oceans,  in  the 
years  1789  and  1793.  With  a  Preliminary  Account  of  the  Rise,  Progress, 
and  Present  State  of  the  Fur  Trade  of  that  Country."  London,  1801. 
Pp.  cxxxii,  412. 

Masson,  L.  R. 

"  Les  Bourgeois  de  la  Compagnie  du  Nord-Ouest :  R^cits  de  voyages, 
lettres,  et  rapports  in^dits  relatifs  au  Nord-Ouest  canadien,  public  avec 
un  esquisse  historique  et  des  annotations."  Premiere  s^rie.  Quebec, 
1889.    Pp.  ix,  413.    Deuxieme  s6rie.    Qu6bec,  1890.    Pp.  vi,  499. 

Moore,  John  Bassett. 

"  History  and  Digest  of  the  International  Arbitrations  to  which  the 
United  States  has  been  a  party,  together  with  Appendices  containing  the 
Treaties  relating  to  such  Arbitrations,  and  Historical  and  Legal  Notes  on 
other  International  Arbitrations,  ancient  and  modern."  Six  vols.  Wash- 
ington, 1898.    Pp.  xcviii,  5240  ;  maps. 

Ross,  Alexander. 

"  Adventures  of  the  First  Settlers  on  the  Oregon  or  Columbia  River ; 
being  a  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  fitted  out  by  John  Jacob  Astor  to  estab- 
lish the  *  Pacific  Fur  Company,'  with  an  account  of  some  Indian  tribes  on 
the  coast  of  the  Pacific."    London,  1849.    Pp.  xvi,  352. 

Simpson,  Sir  George. 

"  Narrative  of  a  Journey  Round  the  World,  during  the  years  1841  and 
1842."    Two  vols.    London,  1847.    Pp-  ^h  43^  ;  vii,  469. 

Thwaites,  Reuben  Gold  (Ed.). 

"  Original  Journals  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  1804-1806, 
printed  from  the  Original  Manuscripts  in  the  Library  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  and  by  direction  of  its  Committee  on  Historical 


564     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 

Documents,  together  with  manuscript  material  of  Lewis  and  Clark  from  other 
sources,  including  Note-books,  Letters,  Maps,  &c.,and  the  Journals  of  Charles 
Floyd  and  Joseph  Whitehouse  ;  now  for  the  first  time  published  in  full  and 
exactly  as  written.  With  Introduction,  Notes,  and  Index."  Seven  vols, 
and  atlas.  New  York,  1904-1905.  Pp.  xciii,  374  ;  ix,  386  ;  x,  363 ;  x,  372  ; 
ix,  395  ;  X,  280  ;  xiii,  534. 

Tyrrell,  J.  B.  (Ed.). 

"  A  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales's  Fort  in  Hudson's  Bay  to  the  Northern 
Ocean,  in  the  years  1769,  1770,  1771,  and  1772."  By  Samuel  Heame. 
New  edition,  with  Introduction,  Notes,  and  Illustrations.  Toronto  :  The 
Champlain  Society,  191 1.     Pp.  xv,  437. 

Tyrrell,  J.  B. 

"  Brief  Narrative  of  the  Journeys  of  David  Thompson."  {Proceedings 
of  the  Canadian  Institute,  Toronto,  3rd  sect.,  vol.  vi,  1887-88,  pp.  135-160.) 

Tyrrell,  J.  B. 

"  Report  on  the  Dubawnt,  Kazan,  and  Ferguson  Rivers,  and  the  North- 
West  Coast  of  Hudson  Bay,  and  on  Two  Overland  Routes  from  Hudson  Bay 
to  Lake  Winnipeg."  {Annual  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada, 
vol.  ix,  1895,  Part  F,  pp.  128.) 

Umfreville,  Edward. 

"  The  Present  State  of  Hudson's  Bay.  Containing  a  full  Description  of 
that  Settlement,  and  the  Adjacent  Country  ;  and  likewise  of  the  Fur  Trade, 
with  Hints  for  its  Improvement,  &c.  &c.  To  which  are  added  Remarks  and 
Observations  made  in  the  Inland  Parts,  during  a  residence  of  near  four  years  ; 
a  specimen  of  five  Indian  languages  ;  and  a  Journal  of  a  Journey  from 
Montreal  to  New  York."     London,  1790.     Pp.  vii,  230. 

Wheeler,  A.  O. 

"  The  Selkirk  Mountains  :  a  Guide  for  Mountain  Pilgrims  and  Climbers." 
Winnipeg,  191 2.     Pp.  196. 

White,  James. 

"  Boundary  Disputes  and  Treaties."  {Canada  and  its  Provinces,  edited 
by  Adam  Shortt  and  Arthur  G.  Doughty,  Toronto,  1914,  vol.  viii,  pp.  751- 
958.) 

White,  James  (Ed.). 

"  Handbook  of  the  Indians  of  Canada,  published  as  an  Appendix  to 
the   Tenth    Report  of  the   Geographic  Board  of   Canada  •    reprinted  by 


LIST   OF   WORKS   CITED  565 

permission  of  Mr.  F.  W.  Hodge,  Ethnologist-in-Charge,  from  *  Handbook 
of  American  Indians  North  of  Mexico/  published  as  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,  and  edited  by  Frederick  William  Hodge  ;  reprinted 
under  the  direction  of  James  White,  F.R.G.S.,  Secretary,  Commission  of 
Conservation."    Ottawa,  1913.     Pp.  x,  632. 

Wilkes,  Charles. 

"  Narrative  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  during  the  years 
1838, 1839, 1840,  1841, 1842."  Five  vols.  New  York,  1856.  Pp.  Ix,  434  ; 
XV,  476;  XV,  438;  xvi,  539;  XV,  558. 


INDEX 


Abies  balsamea,  115 

grandis,  387 

Abitibi,  Lake,  146,  147 
Acer  glabrum,  387 

negundo,  276,  284,  295 

pseudo-platanus,  276 

saccharum,  274,  275-6,  295 

Achorutes,  160 

Acipenser  rubicundus,  60,  181,  277 

Acton  House,  88 

Acworth,  Abram,  xxiv 

Adams,  Thomas,  xxv 

Albany  Factory,  8 

Albany  river,  8,  146,  147 

A  Ices    americanus,    76,    95-7,    185, 

306 
Alder.     See  Alnus 
Alexandria,  Ixxiv 
Algonquin    Indians,    79,    194,    311, 

312 
Allowcatt.     See  Yellepit 
Alnus,  387 

Alopex  lagopus  innuitus,  41,  49 
Amelanchier  alnifolia,  59,  434,  481 
Amisk  lake,  Ixxvii 
Anas  platyrhynchos,  31,  400 
Annel,  Magnus,  Ixviii 
Antelope.     See   Antilocapra   ameri- 

cana 
Antilocapra  americana,  185,  368 
Apistawahshish,  126 
Ap-Thomas,  name  of,  xxiii 
Aquila  chryscstos,  61 
Arapaho  nation  of  Indians,  304,  327 
Arctostaphylos  uva-ursi,  58,  145 
Arrow  lakes,  the,  liii,  xcv,  540 
Arrowhead,  xcv 

Arrowsmith,  maps  of,  bcii-bdii,  466 
Ash.     See  Fraxinus 
Ash  House,  Ixxiv,  213,  241 
Ashburton,  Lord,  176-7 

Treaty,  the,  177 

Askeeawawshish,  308 

Aspin.     See  Populus  tremuloides 


Assiniboin    (Stone)    Indians,    xxxi, 

xciv,  178,  206,  208,  212,  214,  218, 

235.  239.  240.  245,  307,  326,  334, 

361,  367,  368 
Assiniboine    (Stone    Indian)    river, 

xliv,  Ixxiii,  Ixxiv,  Ixxv,  185,  195, 

207,  210,  243,  249 
Astor,  J.  J.,  501 
Astoria.     See  Fort  Astoria 
Astur  atricapillus,  46,  50 
Athabaska  expedition,  the,  xxxvi- 

xli 
House,  Ixxxiii.     See  also  Fort 

Chipewyan 

Lake,    xxxiii,    xxxiv,    xxxvi, 


xxxvii,  xl,  xU,  Ixxi,  Ixxxiii,  28, 
56,  133,  134,  138,  140,  146-8,  172, 

174,  293 
—  Pass,   xciii,   xcviii,   403,    441, 

444-9,  556 

river,  xxix,  xxxiv,  xlv,  lii,  liii, 


Ixxix,  Ixxxii,  Ixxxiii,  xciii,  xcvi, 
xcviii,  171,  184,  442,  443,  508,  557 

Athalmer,  site  of,  376 

Athapapuskow  lake,  Ixix,  Ixxxiv, 
Ixxxv 

river,  Ixxxv 

Athapascan  family  of  Indians,  304 

Atsina.     See  Rapid  Indians 

Aurora  borealis,  51,  156—7 

Babue,  Fran9ois,  296 
Back,  Sir  George,  28,  174-5 
Badger.     See  Taxidea  taxus 
Baker's  Bay,  505 
BalcBna  mysticetus,  19 
Baldwin,  a  "  Canadian  trader,"  Ixvii 
Ballantyne,  R.  M.,  28,  109,  298 
Ballenden,  John,  xxvii 
Barren  Grounds,  the,  140-1 
Basalt,  290-1,  386,  519,  529 
Basswood.     See  Tilia  americana 
Battleford,  site  of,  Ixviii 
Battoche,  443 


567 


568      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Bear     Berry.     See     Arctostaphylos 
uva-ursi 

Black.    See  Ursus  americanus 

Grizzly.    See  Ursus  horribilis 

Polar.     See   Thalarctos  mari- 

timus 

Yellow.    See  Ursus  americanus 

Bear's  Hills,  xlvi 

Beaulieu,  xcii,  385,  412 
Beaver.     See  Castor  canadensis 
Beaver,  the  sloop,  147 
Beaver  Hall  Club,  Ixii 

hills,  Ixviii 

lake,  Ixxviii,  Ixxxv,  136 

river,  xcviii,  136,  306,  558 

Bedford  House,  Ixxi,  134,  153,  252, 

302 
Bella  Coola  river,  171 
Bellaire,  420 

Belleau,  Pierre,  189,  195-6 
BeUeau's  House,  Ixxiii,  Ixxiv,  195-6 
Beluga.     See  Delphinapterus  catodon 
Bereis,  536 

Bethune,  Rev.  John,  liv 
Betula  alaskana,  11 4-1 7 
fontinalis,  454 

glandulosa,  57 

lutea,  294 

papyrifera,    56,    11 4-1 7,    185, 

274 

Beverley,  site  of,  485 

Bible,  Thompson  family,  Iv 

Big  Horn  river,  553 

Big  White  Man,  Indian  chief,  226 

Bigsky,  J.  J.,  cited,  xxiv,  Ivi-lvii 

Birch.       See    Betula    alaskana,    B. 

fontinalis,  B.  glandulosa,  B.  lutea, 

and  B.  papyrifera 

Brook,  Ixxix 

Birhng,  station  of,  xxix 
Bison  bison,  189,  305,  538 

athahasccB,  558 

Bittern.     See  Botaurus  lentiginosus 


Black  Island  Rapids,  473 

lakes,  the,  142-4 

(Stone)   river,   Ixxi,   135, 


138. 


140,  142,  143,  144,  145-6 
Blackfoot  Indians,  xxx,  xlvi,  Ixxviii, 

xc,   131,  304,  327,  334,  345,  367, 

368,  419 
Blaeberry  Creek,  xciii,  408,  430,  457 

river,  Ixxxvi,  Ixxxvii,  Ixxxviii 

Blood  Indians,  131,  327,  345,  367 

Blue  Mountains,  492 

Boat  Encampment,  Uii,  xcvii,  451, 

556 


Boggy    Hall,    h,    Ixxxviii,    Ixxxix, 

xciii 
Boiske  (Bousquet  or  Buskay),  281 
Boisseau,  Joseph,  209,  210,  226 
Boisvert  (Boisverd),  379,  431,  512 
Bonner's    Ferry,   Ixxxvii,    xc,   376, 

389 

Botany  Bay,  9 

Botaurus  lentiginosus,  38,  66,  269 

Bougainville,  cited,  Ixxii 

Boulard,  Michel,  xci,  379,  472, 
510 

Boundary  line,  international.  See 
United  States,  boundary  line  be- 
tween Canada  and 

Bourdeaux,  Michel,  424,  472,  478, 

551-2 
Bousquet.     See  Boiske 
Bow    river,    xxx,    xlvi,    Ixv,    Ixxx, 

Ixxxi,  53,  54,  188,  325,  338 
Box  Canon,  427,  477 
Branta  canadensis,   34,   36,  62,  65, 

253.  269,  402,  429 

hutchinsi,  31,  34,  269,  412 

Brazeau  lake,  Ixxxi 

river,  Ixxxi 

Brosseau,  A.    See  Boisseau,  Joseph 
Brough,  Hugh,  Ixviii 
Broughton,  Lieutenant,  500,  505 
Brule  lake,  xciii,  442 
Brunswick  House,  147 
Bubo  virginianus  subarcticus,  63 
Buche,  Baptiste,  424 
Buck  Lake  Creek,  Ixxix 
Buckingham  House,  xxxvii,  xlv,  Ixi, 

Ixviii,  Ixxviii,  53,  320-1 
Budge,  William,  41-2 
Buffalo  lake,  Ixxviii,  Ixxix,  147 
Burke,  Edmund,  cited,  176 
Burntwood  lake,  Ixvii,  bcx,  bcxxiv 
Portage,  Ixxxv 

river,  xxxvi,  Ixvii,  Ixx 

Buscuscoggan  lake.     See  Playgreen 

lake 
Bush  river,  456 
Buskay.     See  Boiske 

Cadotte,  Baptiste,  bcxvi,  251,  252, 

254.  257 

Michel,  29.t 

Cadotte's  House,  Ixxvi,  251,  284 
Calgary,  site  of,  xxx,  Ixxx 
Cahspell  Indians,  461,  464,  530 

lake,  426 

river,  428 

Calling  river,  208 


INDEX 


569 


Camas.     See  Quamasia  quamash 
Canachites  canadensis,  47 
Canada  (North-West  Company  en- 
gage). 536 

government  of,  uses  Thomp- 
son's map,  Ixiv 

Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  building 

of,  39 
Canal  Flat,  408,  430,  458.     See  also 

McGilUvray's  Portage 
Canis  nubilus,  208 

occidentalis,  42,  75,  323,  454 

Canoe  river,    hi,   xciii,   xciv,   xcvi, 

xcvii,  449,  451,  534 
Cape  Disappointment,  502,  503 

Horn,  500,  501 

Cardinal,  Jacco,  xlvi 

Caribou,    98,    102,    145.     See    also 

Cervus  tarandus  var.  B.  sylvestris 

and  Rangifer  arcticus 
Carp.     See   Catostomus  and  Moxo- 

stoma  lesueuri 
Carter,  xlviii 

Cascade  Locks,  site  of,  498 
Cascades  of  the  Columbia,  the,  xciv, 

497,  514-18 
Cass  lake.     See  Red  Cedar  lake 
Castlegar,  site  of,  xcv 
Castor    canadensis,    73,     112,     118, 

199-206,  306 
Castorum,  73,  201,  204,  205 
Catostomus  catostomus,  50,  112,  181, 

305.  461 

commersonii,  295 

Cedar.     See  Thuja 

lake,  55,  435 

Celilo,  495 

Cervus   canadensis,    185,    197,    312, 

315.  376 

tarandus  var.  B.  sylvestris,  98 

Chaboillez,  Charles,  Ixxv,  247 
Charles  (Iroquois  guide),  457,  459, 

472 

George,     xxxvii,     xlvii,     Ixx, 

Ixxxiv,  27-8,  172,  173 

John,   28.     See   also  Charles, 


George 
Charlton  House,  Ixxiv 
Chatham  House,  Ixvi 

lake.     See  Wintering  lake 

Chaudidre  Indians.    See  Ilthkoyape 

Indians 
Chauvette,  xlvi 
Chelsea,  5 
Chen  ccerulescens,  34 

hutchinsi  nivalis,  34 


Cherry.     See  Prunus  pennsylvanica 

and  P.  virginiana 
Chesterfield  House,  Ixviii,  188 

Inlet,  16 

Chevreuil.    See  Odocoileus  hemionus 
Cheyenne  Indians,  236,  261—2 
Chickadee.  See  Penthestes  hudsonicus 
Chinook  Indians,  495,  505 
Chipewyan    Indians,    128-32,    148, 

161-6,  260,  361,  559 
Chipman  river,  144 
Chipmunk.    See  Eutamias  horealis 
Chippewa    (Ojibway)    Indians,    79, 
181,   194,   205,    215,   225-6,    246, 
249,  253,  260,  264,  276,  293,  322- 

3.  361 
Choecoos  river.     See  Moyie  river 
Christianity,    influence   of,    83,    89, 

142,  236-7,  309 
Churchill  Factory  (Fort  Churchill), 
xxvi,  xxxiv,  XXXV,  xxxvi,  xxxvii, 
xlvii,  Ixv,  3,  8,  9,  11-13,  27,  36, 
270.  See  also  Fort  Prince  of 
Wales 

(Missinipi)  river,  xxviii,  xxix, 

xxxiii,  xxxiv,  xxxv,  xxxvi, 
xxxvii,  xxxix,  xlv,  liii,  Ixvii,  Ixx, 
Ixxi,  Ixxvii,  Ixxix,  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv, 
xcviii,  8,  9,  27,  32,  128,  133,  136, 

305 
Clangula  c.  americana,  65 
Clarke,  John,  464 
Clark's    Fork    (Saleesh)    river,    liii, 

xc,  xcii,  xciv,  408-10,   430,  459, 

460,  461,  471,  541,  544,  555 
Clear  river,  Ixxv,  Ixxvi 
Clearwater  river,  xlvi,  Ixxix,  Ixxx, 

Ixxxiv,  251,  266 
Clement,  xlvi 
Coal,  189-90 
Cochrane,  A.  S.,  142 

river,  138 

Cocking,  Mathew,  Ixxxix,  146,  319 

Coeur  d'Alene  lake,  464 

Cole    ("  Canadian   trader  "),   xxxv, 

320 
Colen,  Joseph,  xxvii,  xxviii,  xxxiii, 

xxxiv,      xxxv,      xxxvi,      xxxvii, 

xxxviii,  xxxix,  xU,  xlLi-xliii,  39, 

53,  56,  133.  168 
Colter,  John,  419 
Columbia    river,    1,    U,     hi,     Ixxx, 

Ixxxvi-xciv,  xcv,  xcvi,  xcviii,  376, 

385,  397.  402,  408,  428,  430,  449, 

451-527,  532.  533,  541 

valley,  li 


570      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Golville  river,  466 

Comcomly,  Chief,  505-6 

Connelly,  xlviii 

Cook,     Captain     James,     Iviii-lix ; 

cited,  Ixix 
William,  xxix,  xxxvii,  xxxix, 

Ixii,  99 
Copper,  291-2 
Copperass  harbour,  292 
Coppermine  river,  xxvi,  Iviii,  lix,  1 74 
Coregonus,  60,  iii,  181,  305 
Cormorant.     See  Phalacrocorax  au- 

riius 
Corvus  brachyrhynchos,  61,  232 

hesperis,  454 

corax  principalis,  49,  113,  400 


Cote,  Joseph,  442,  443,  449,  453,  472 
Coues,   Elliott,  cited,   Ixxxix,   281, 

505 
Cox,  Ross,  501,  541  ;   cited,  379 
Coxe  ("  Sandwich  islander  "),  510- 

II.  533-4 
Crab  Creek,  485 
Cranberry.    See  Oxycoccus  and  Vac- 

cinium  vitisidcsa 
lake,  xlvii,  xlviii,  Ixx,  Ixxxiv, 

Ixxxv 

Portage,  Ixix,  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv 


Crane.  See  Grus  americana  and  G. 
canadensis 

Gree  (Nahathaway)  Indians,  xxxi, 
8,  78-94,  129,  130,  131,  165,  178, 
205,  208,  235,  246,  260,  264,  315- 
17.  319,  326,  361,  367,  559 

river,  144 

Cristivomer  namaycush,  41,  43,  59, 

157 
Crooked  river,  Ixx 
Cross  lake,  435 

Portage,  Ixvii,  117 

Crossbeak.     See  Loxia 

Crotalus    confluentus    lucifer,     482, 

Crow.     See  Corvus 

Crowberry.    See  Empeirum  nigrum 

Cumberland  House,  xxviii,  xxxi, 
xxxii,  xxxiii,  xxxv-xxxix,  xlviii, 
Ixi,  Ixv,  Ixvi,  Ixvii,  Ixix,  Ixxi, 
Ixxvii,  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv,  Ixxxvi, 
Ixxxix,  xcii,  xcviii,  53,  146,  147, 
318-19,  434,  438,  559 

lake,  53,  293,  434 

Curlew.  See  Numenius  borealis  and 
N.  hudsonicus 

Currant.  See  Ribes  hudsonianum, 
R.  oxyacanthoides,  and  R.  rubrum 


Curzon  Junction,  site  of,  389 
Cusick,  site  of,  xciv,  412 
Cuthbert    Grant's    House,    Ixxiii- 
Ixxiv,  195 

Dalles  des  Morts,  the,   liii,  xcv- 

xcvi,  540 
Dalrymple,  Alexander,  28,  173 
Dauphin  hills,  185 
lake,  Ixxii 

river,  Ixxii,  182,  185,  193,  436 

Davy,  Andrew,  118 

Day,  Miss  Elsie,  xxiv 

Dead  Sea,  the,  281 

Death     Rapids.     See     Dalles     des 

Morts 
D'Eau,  Baptiste,  443,  449 
Deer.     See   Odocoileus  and   Cervus 

canadensis 

lake,  xl 

Park,  site  of,  xcv 

Deers  river,  xlii 
Dejarlaiz,  Fran9ois,  471 
Delaware  Indians,  79,  265 
Delphinapterus  catodon,  14,  19,  23-4 
Deluge,  account  of  the,  88 
Dinnae    Indians.      See    Chipewyan 

Indians 
Dog  Den  Butte.    See  Dog  Tent  Hills 

lake,  Ixxxiv 

river,  Ixxxiv 

Tent  Hills,  214,  218,  221,  222, 

240,  241 

Douglas,  David,  cited,  465 

Duck.       See    Anas     platyrhynchos, 

Clangula    canadensis    americana, 

and  Nettion  carolinense 
lake,  Ixviii 

Portage,  xl,  Ixvii,  bcx,  78 

House,  Ixxi 

Duluth,  site  of,  xliv,  272 

Du  Nord,  443,  446,  449 
Dupleix,  Louis,  xlvii 
Dymond,  Joseph,  9 

Eagle.     See  Aquila  chryscetos  and 
HalicBctus  leucocephalus  alascanus 

hills,  185,  321 

Ectopistes  migratorius,  61 
Edmonton,  xc,  432 
Elbow  lake,  Ixx 

river,  Ixx 

Eldred,  Juhus,  292 

Elk.     See  Cervus  canadensis 

Ellice,  Edward,  169 

Elm.     See  Ulmus  americana 


INDEX 


571 


Empetrum  nigrum,  58 
Enhiorningen,  128 
Entiatqua  Rapids,  481 
Epimys  norvegicus,  69 
Erethizon  dorsatum,  112,  306 
Erignathus  barbatus,  17 
Ermine.    See  M  us  tela  cicognani 
Eskimo,  16-23,  131 
Esox  lucius,  59,  III,  181,  305 
Etoimami  river,  Ixxiv,  196 
Eutamias  borealis,  186 
Exshaw,  site  of,  Ixxxi 
Eyeberry.     See  Rubus  arcticus 


Faden,  map  of,  175 

Fair  river,  295 

Fairford  House,  xl,  Ixx,  Ixxi,  133, 

136,  152 
Falco  islandus,  46 

gy^/a/co,  46 

Falkner,  Rev.  Mr.,  7 

Fall  Indians,  223,  224,  226-7,  235- 

6,  304.  314.  327 
Falls  Creek,  387 
Fea,  William,  Ixviii 
Felis  oregonensis  hippolestes,  387 
Fiber  zibethicus,  298 


ctnnamomtnus,  200 

osoyoosensis,  390,  479 

Fidler,  Peter,  xxxvii,  Ixxiv,  Ixxvii, 

Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv,  134,  142,  147,  172, 
188  ;   cited,  Ixvii,  Ixviii 
File  lake,  Ixxxiv 

river,  Ixx,  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv 

Finch.     See  Leucosticte  tephrocotis 
Fine  Meadow  river.     See  Tobacco 

river 
Finlay,    Jacques    (Jaco)    Raphael, 

Ixxxvi,    xc,   xcii,   375,  379,    416, 

464,  465,  527,  530 
Fir.     See   Abies    balsamea   and    A. 

grandis 
Fisher.     See  Maries  pennanti 
Flatbow  Indians,  Ixxxvii 

river.     See  Kootenay  river 

Flathead      Indians,      li,       Ixxxvii, 

Ixxxix,  cxi,  328,  416 

lake,  li,  xcvii,  415,  458,  553 

—  river,  li,  xci,  xcvii,  544 

Road,  xc,  xci 

Flatheart  river.     See  Wood  river 
Flea,  Snow.     See  Achorutes 
Folster,  Hugh,  xxix 
Fond  du  Lac  House,  Ixxvii 
Forest  hills,  185 


Forsyth,  Richardson,  and  Company. 

See  X  Y  Company 
Fort  a  la  Come,  bcix,  bcxxviii 

Alexander.      See      Winnipeg 

House 

Astoria,  hi,  xciv,  501-2,  507, 


510 


Augustus,  xlv-xlvi,  Ixi,  Ixviii, 
Ixxviii,     Ixxix,     Ixxxii,     Ixxxix, 
xc,  xcii,  312,  380,  406,  432-3 
—  Bas  de  la  Riviere.    See  Winni- 


peg House 

—  Charlotte,  Ixxvii 

—  Chipewyan,  Ixxxiii,  134,  148, 


172 

—  Churchill.    See  Churchill  Fac- 
tory 

—  Colvile,  464 

—  Dauphin,  Ixxii,  Ixxiv 

—  de  risle,  xlix,  Ixxxviii 

—  de  Milieu,  Ixxxviii 

—  des  Prairies,  Ixxxviii 

—  du  Tremble,  Ixxxiii 

—  Edmonton,  xc 

—  Enterprise,  174 

—  Epinette,  Ixxiv,  Ixxv,  243-4 
Esperance.      See    Thorburn's 


House 

—  Frances,  179 

—  Franklin,  174,  175 

—  George,    xlv,     Ixviii,    Ixxviii, 
Ixxix,  Ixxxviii,  321 

—  island,  Ixxix 

—  Kootanae.        See      Kootanae 


House 

—  La  Biche,  Ixxiv,  196 

—  Langley,  416 

—  La  Reine,  Ixxii,  245 

—  Liard,  Ixxxiii 

—  McMurray,  Ixxix 

—  Maurepas,  Ixxvii,  181 

—  Montague  d'Aigle,  320 

—  Muskako,  Ixxxviii 

—  Okanagan,  480 
Pelly,  Ixxiii 


Prince  of  Wales,  xxvi,  xxviii, 

9,  12,  128.  See  also  Churchill 
Factory 

St.  Louis,  Ixxxviii,  Ixxxix 

Saskatchewan,  bcxviii 

Steele,  Ixxxviii,  389,  394 

Vancouver,  497 

VermiUon,    Ixxxiii,     Ixxxviii, 

Ixxxix 

Wedderburne,  172 

Wilham,  Ixiii,  Ixxxii,  Ixxxiii, 


572      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Ixxxiv,  Ixxxvi,   xcvi,   xcviii,  169, 

559 
Fox.     See  Alopex  lagopus  mnuttus 

and  Vulpes  fulva 
Fragaria  canadensis,  58 
Franchere,    Gabriel,    Ixxvii,     501  ; 

cited,  Ixxxviu,  181,  501 
Franklin,    Sir    John,    174-5,    192, 

297 
Fraser,  Alexander,  Ixxi,  169 
Simon,    xliii,    xlv,     xlix,    Ix, 

Ixxvii,  376 

river,  166,  555 


Fraser's  House,  xliii 
Fraxinus,  185,  211 
French-Canadians,     characteristics 
of,  78,  89,  104,  107,  123,  131,  209, 

250.  443 
French  Creek,  41 

river,  xcviii 

Frobisher,  Benjamin,  Ixxxv,  106 

Joseph,  xxxi,  106 

Frog.    See  Rana  cantabrigensis  lati- 
remis 

Portage,  xxxiii,  Ixxvii,  Ixxxiv, 

Ixxxv 

Gardepui's  Crossing,  Ixviii 

Gavia  immer,  66,  269 

Ghost  river,  Ixxx 

Gilbert,  Pierre,  209 

Gloucester  House,  146,  147 

Goat,    Mountain.       See    Oreamnos 

montanus 
Goldeneye,  American.    See  Clangula 

canadensis  americana 
Goose.     See  Branta  canadensis,  B. 

canadensis  hutchinsi,   Chen  ccbvu- 

lescens,  C.  hutchinsi  nivalis 

lake,  Ixix,  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv 

river,  Ixix,  Ixxxv 

Gooseberry.      See    Ribes    oxyacan- 

thoides 
Goshawk.     See  Astur  atricapillus 
Grand  Marais,  Ixxxiii 

Portage,  xliii,  xliv,  xlv,  Ixxi, 

Ixxvii,     Ixxix,     Ixxx,     169,    177, 
178,  297,  298 

Quete  river,  Ixxxviii,  392 

Rapids.     See  Tobin  Rapids 


Great  Bear  lake,  174 

river,  174 

Carrying   Place.      See   Grand 


Grant,  Cuthbert,  Ixxiii,  195 

Peter,  195 

Robert,  206 

Grass  river,  xxxvi,  Ixvi,  Ixix,  117 
Gray,  Captain  Robert,  505 
Gray's  Bay,  505 


Portage 

—  Fish  river,  28 

—  Lakes,  the,  liv 

—  Plains,  the,  183-92,  210,  248 

—  Slave  lake,  56 
—  river,  174 


Green  lake,  Ixxviii 

Lake  House,  Ixxviii 

Gregoire,  Fran9ois,  472 

Gregory,   McLeod,   and    Company, 

106,  175 
Grey  Coat  School,   xxiii-xxv,   Ivi, 

Iviii,  5,  27 
Gros  Ventres,  244,  304 
Grouse.      See   Lagopus,    Canachites 

canadensis,  and  Pedioecetes  phasi- 

anellus 
Grus  americana,  66,  269 

canadensis,  38,  66 

Gull.    See  Larus  and  Sterna  hirundo 
Gulo  luscus,  41,  42,  73,  430 
Gyxfaicon.     See  Falco  islandus  and 

Falco  i.  gyrfalco 

Hair  hills,  the,  185,  252 
Halcyon  Hot  Springs,  xcv 
Haliceetus   leucocephalus   alascanus, 

62,  151,  400,  454 
Hallett,  xcii 
Hamelin,  536 
Hamilton,  xlviii 
Hare.     See  Lepus 
Harmon,  Daniel,  Ixviii,  Ixxiv,  Ixxxiv; 

cited,  Ixxii,  Ixxiii,  Ixxiv,  244 
Harmon's  Post,  555 
Hartney,  site  of,  213 
Hatchet  lake,  102,  143 
Hawk.      See    Falco    islandus    and 

Falco  i.  gyrfalco 
Hayes  river,  xxviii,  xxxii,  xxxiii,  Ixv, 

Ixvi,  Ixvii,  8,  9,  34,  45 
Heame,  Samuel,  xxvi,  xxxiii,  xxxv- 

xxxvi,  Iviii-lix,  lo-ii,  12,  26,  27, 

28,  146,  318 
Hell  Gate  Rapids,  473,  495,  520 

river,  xcvii 

Hendry,  Anthony,  Ixxxix,  334 
Henry,    Alexander    (the    younger), 

Ixxxix,  xcviii,  439,    508  ;     cited, 

Ixix,  Ixxx,  Ixxxviii,  Ixxxix,  244, 

245,  320 
(the  elder),  Ixxxix,  171, 

292 


INDEX 


573 


Henry,  Andrew,  376,  553 

William,  xcii.    439,  443,  457, 

536,  557 
Henry's  House,  xcvi 
Hickory.     See  Hicoria 
Hicoria,  211 

Highwood  river.    See  Spitchee  river 
Hill  river,  xxxviii 
Hipberry.     See  Rosa  acicularis 
Hodges    (Hudson's   Bay   Company 

surgeon),  26 
Holland,  contraband  trade  with,  7 
Holy  lake,  Ixvi 
Hood,  Lieutenant,  174 
Hoodoo  lake,  541 
Hood's  river,  174 
Horse  Plains,  the,  541-2 

Shoe  House,  Ixxxiii 

Horses,  179,  214,  330,  334,  367-70, 

377-8,  401 

Houle  (Hoole),  Louis  Joseph  (Fran- 
cis), 209,  222 

Howard,  Surgeon,  271 

Howse,    Joseph,    1-li,     Ixxxvi,   xc, 

415.  458 

Pass,  1,  Ixxxvi,  416 

Hudson  Bay,   xxvi,   xlii,  Iviii,  Ixv, 

ixvi,  Ixvii ;  description  of,  8,  29  ; 
life  at  a  trading  post  on,  30-54  ; 
country  about,  56 

Railway,  55,  117 

George,  319 

Strait,  8,  39 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Thompson 
apprenticed  to,  xxiv-xxv,  3  ; 
competes  with  North- West  Com- 
pany for  trade  with  Muskrat 
country,  xxxiv— xxxix,  133—4  >' 
Thompson  leaves  service  of,  xli, 
Ixxi,  169  ;  gets  credit  for  Thomp- 
son's map,  Ixii ;  policy  of,  142, 
171,  173-4  ;  builds  first  inland 
posts,  318-19  ;  is  amalgamated 
with  North- West  Company,  Ixiii, 
106  ;  crosses  Rocky  Mountains, 
1-li ;  employs  surgeons,  26 ; 
sends  out  three  ships  a  year  to 
Hudson  Bay,  27 

Hudson's  House,  Lower,  xxviii- 
xxix,  XXX,  bcv,  Ixix,  319 

Upper,       xxxiv,       Ixix, 

Ixxxviii,  319 

Huggemowequan,  97 

Hughes,  James,   xlv,   Ixxix,  Ixxxi, 

ex,  406,  432 
Hungry  Hall,  Ixix 


Hunter,  Dr.  John,  270 
Huron,  Lake,  liv,  xcviii,  560 
Hutchins,  Thomas,  xxv,  147 

Idaho,  state  of,  xlix,  Iviii,  Ixxxvii 
Ignace  (Iroquois  guide),  460,  472 
Ilthkoyape  Brook.    See  Kettle  river 

Falls.     See  Kettle  Falls. 

Indians,  467 

Indian  lake,  xlvii,  xlviii,  Ixxxv,  28 

Rapids,  494,  520 

Indians.     See  names  of  tribes  and 

nations 
Inspaelis,  478-80   - 
Iroquois  Indians,  205,  311-17,  457, 

535 

Irving,  Washington,  Ixii,  501  ;  cited, 

505 
Isaac  Todd,  the,  508 
Isaac's  House,  Ixix 
Island  Fort,  321 
Isle  a  la  Crosse,  xlv,  Ixxviii,  xcviii, 

28,  558 

lake,  Ixxviii,  Ixxix 

Itasca  lake,  Lxxvi 
Ithenootosequan  lake.     See  Elbow 

lake 

James  Bay,  8 

Jarvis,  E.,  147 

Jay,  Canada.  See  Perisoreus  cana- 
densis 

Jefferson  (second  in  command  at 
Churchill),  11,  26 

Jennings,  John,  xxvii 

site  of,  376,  430,  459 

Jeremie,  cited,  Ixvii 
Jocko  Creek,  xcvii,  416 
John  Day  Rapids,  495,  520 

river,  494,  520 

Jordan  river,  280 
Joseph's  Prairie,  389 
Jumbo  Hill,  xcvii 

Juniper.     See  Juniperus  sabina 
Juniperus  sabina,  58 
Jussomme,    Rene,    209,    210,    212, 
222,  226,  235,  239 

Kabinakagami  lake,  147 

river,  147 

Kalichen  Falls,  476 
Kalispell,  site  of,  li,  458 
Kaministikwia,  xlviii 

river,  Ixxxii,  Lxxxiv 

Kayaks,  16,  21 

Kazan  river,  16,  131 


574      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Keewenow  Point,  292,  296 
Kenogami  river,  147 
Kettle   Falls,    lii,    Hii,    xciv,    xcvi, 
xcvii,  428,  466,  472,  540,  555 

nver,  555 

Kinbasket  lake,  456 
KinviUe,  Michel,  536,  551-2 
Kissiskatchewan  river.    See  Nelson 

river 
Kississing  river,  Ixxi 
Klickitats,  village  of,  495 
Knee  lake,  Ixvi 
Koo-Koo-Sint,     name    applied    to 

Thompson,  526 
Kootanae  Appee,   54,   340,   346-7, 

370,  380,  381,  382,  383 

House,   Lxi,   bcxxvii,  Ixxxviii, 

xc,  xcvii,    375-6,   379,  395,  398, 

415.  539.  542 

river.     See  Columbia  river 


Kootenay  Bottoms,  the,  389 

Falls,  Ixxxvii,   xc,   379,    387, 

430 

lake,  Ixxxvii,  379,  386 

Landing,  Ixxxvii,  412 

Plain,  Ixxxvi,  Ixxxviii,  bcxxix, 

xc,  415.  536 

river,  lii,  Ixxxvii,  Ixxxviii,  xc. 


xci,    xcii,    xciv,    xcv,    379,    385, 

389.  394.  408.  415.  429 
Rivulet,  376 


Kosdaw  lake,  143 
Kozdaw,  135,  151 
KuUyspell  House,  xci,  xcii,  410,  414, 

429,  533.  540 
Kutenai  Indians,   h,  Ixxx,  Ixxxvii, 
xc,     304,    328,     367,     379.     382, 
388,    410,    458,    460,    466,    533, 
541 

La     Biche,     Lake,     xliv,      Ixxvii, 
Ixxviii,  xcviii,  136,  304 

river.     See  Red  Deer  river 

Labrador  Tea.     See  Ledum  grasn- 

landicum 
La  Gamble,  385 
Lac  des  Mille  Lacs,  Ixxxiv 
La  Chaudiere.  See  Kettle  Falls. 
La  Croix,  Lake,  Lxxxiv 
La  Gassi,  xlvi,  Ixxx 
Lagopus  alhus,  13,  41,  44 

rupestris,  13,  41,  44 

Lake  Indians,  388,  389,  398,  541 

of  the  Woods,  hv,  Ixxi,  xcviii, 

55.  179.  257,  436 

L'Amoureux,  443,  449,  536 


Landing  lake.  See  Sturgeon  lake 
La  Perouse,  Admiral  de,  9-10,  39 
Larch.      See    Larix    laricina    and 

Larix  occidentalis 
Larix  laricina,  56,  115,  278 

occidentalis,  387 

La  Ronge,  Lake,  Ixxviii,  171 
Larus  argentatus,  68,  182 

delawarensis ,  68 

Latax  lutris,  570 

La  Verendrye,  Pierre  de,  Ixviii,  245 
Le  Blanc,  Ixxx 
Leach  lake,  177,  278 

river,  278 

Ledum  grcenlandicum,  152 
Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  Ixxxix 
Lemoine,  285 
Lepus  americanus,  41,  43-4 

arcticus  canus,  12 

Lesieur  Toussaint,  Ixxvii,  181 
Lesser    Slave    lake,    Ixxix,  Ixxxii, 

Ixxxui 

Lake  river,  Ixxix,  Ixxxii, 

xcviii 

Le  Tendre,  Baptiste,  449 

Leucosticte  tephrocotis,  401 

Lewis,    Captain   Meriwether,  xcvii, 

375 
Lillooet  Indians,  328 
Liquor,  traffic  in,  Ivii-lviii,  53,  396 
Lisa's  Fort,  553 
Little  Dauphin  river.     See  Mossy 

river 

Saskatchewan  river.    S^^  Dau- 
phin river 

Spokane  river,  464 

Swan  river,  Ixxxiv 


London  Bridge,  5 

Port  of,  3 

Treaty  of,  169 

Long,  Major,  403 

Longmore,  Robert,  xxviii,  xxxvi 
Longueuil,  hv-lvi 
Loon.     See  Gavia  immer 
Lophodytes  cucitllatus,  68 
Lota  maculosa,  61 

Lower  Columbia  lake.    See  Winder- 
mere, Lake 
Loxia  curvirostra  minor,  48 

leuctopera,  48 

Lussier,  xci,  385,  443,  449 

river.     See  Sheep  river  (2) 

Lutra  canadensis,  271 
Lutreola  v.  letifera,  282 
Lynch,  Lieutenant,  280 

Lynx  canadensis,  73,  112,  282 


INDEX 


575 


McCraken  (McCrachan),  Hugh, 
209,  213,  220,  222,  226,  235,  240, 
241 

McDonald,  Finan,  xlix,  Ixxxvi, 
Ixxxix,  xcii,  xciv,  xcv,  xcvi,  378- 

9.  385.  395.  399.  407.  415.  424. 
460,  462,  463,  464,  512,  533,  536, 
540,  542-3 

of  Garth,  John,  xlv,  xhx,  Ivii, 

Ixviii,  Ixxix,  xcvii,  190,  396,  402, 

415.  536,  538,  539,  542 
MacDonald,  Ranald,  505 
McDonald's     river.       See     Moyie 

river 
McDonnell,  John,  207,  242  ;    cited, 

206,  222,  244 

Miles,  207 

McDonnell's  House,  Ixi,  Ixxiv,  Ixxv, 

207,  208,  240,  241,  242 
McDougall,    Duncan,    lii-liii,    xciv, 

501,  502,  542 
McGiUis,  Hugh,  xlv,  Ixxi,  Ixxiii,  177, 

196 
McGilUvray,    Duncan,    xlix,    Ixxx- 

Ixxxi,  432 

William,  169,  297,  402 

McGillivray's      Portage,       Ixxxvii, 

xc,  xcii,  xciv,  430,  458.  See  also 
Canal  Flat 

river.     See  Kootenay  river 

McKay,     a     "  Canadian     trader," 

xxxix,  Ixvii 

Alexander,  xlv,  Ixxviii,  311 


McKay's  lake,  Ixvii 

Mackenzie,     Sir    Alexander,    xxix, 

bdii,  xlvi,  be,  Lxxxii,  Ixxxiii,  106, 

148,  170,  172,  297,  311 
McKenzie,  Donald,  379 
Mackenzie    river,    xxxiv,    17,    170, 

184 

Roderick,    xliii,    liii,    Ixxxiii, 

148,  172  ;    cited,  Ixxvii,  175 

McLeod,     a    "Canadian     trader," 

Ixix 
McLoughhn,  John,  496 
McMillan,  James,  xc,  xci,  xcii,  xcvii, 

415-16,  429-31,  539,  542 
McNab,  John,  1 
McPherson,  Samuel  John,  xxv 
McTavish,  Donald,  Ivii,  396,  508 

J.  G.,  xcvii,  416,  539,  542 

Simon,  106 

Magpie.     See  Pica  pica  hudsonia 
Mallard.     See  Anas  platyrhynchos 
Manchester  House,  xxix,  xxx,  xxxv, 
Ixv,  Ixviii,  Ixxix,  321 


Mandan  Indians,  xliv,  212, 227,  230- 
7,  239,  244,  253 

villages,    the,   Ix,  Ixxiv-lxxv, 

208,  223,  226-30,  238 

Manito  Hills,  243 

lake.     See  WoUaston  lake 

Manitoba,  Lake,  lxxxii,  193 
Manoah,  224,  227,  230,  235 
Manuminan  lake.    See  McKay's  lake 
Maple.      See    Acer   glabrum,    Acer 

negundo,  and  Acer  saccharum 

sugar,  276,  283 

Marias  river,  375 

Marmot.    See  Marmota  fiaviventer 

Marmota  flaviventer,  478 

Marten.    See  Maries  americana  and 

Maries  a.  abieiicola 

Humphrey,  xxvii,  xxviii,  56 

Maries  americana,  282 

abieiicola,  41,  70,  112 

pennanti,  t.S'z 

Meadow  Portage,  Ixxii,   Ixxv,  193, 
194,  245 

river,  278 

Meares,  Capiain  John,  502 

Mellam,  John,  41-2 

Merganser.    See  Mergus  americanus, 

Mergus  serrator,  and  Lophodyies 

cucullaius 
Mergus  americanus,  68 

serrator,  68 

Metahne  Falls,  427 
Metcalfe,  Lord,  413 
Meteor,  11 8-1 9 
Methode,  536 
Methow  Rapids,  480 

river,  480 

Methy.    See  Loia  maculosa 

Portage,  Ixv,  Ixxix,  Ixxxiv 

Meyers,  Jacob  A.,  cited,  466 
Michel,  xcvii 

Michigan,  Lake,  293 

Microius      pennsylv  aniens       drum 

mondi,  69,  186 
Miette  river,  xciii 
Minie,  Jean  Baptiste,  209 
Mink.     See  Luireola  v.  leiifera 
Minnesota,  state  of,  lii 
Mirage,  120-2 
Misaskutum   Berry.     See   Amelan- 

chier  alnifolia 
Mishipicoten  river,  291 
Missinaibi  lake,  147 

river,  147 

Missinipi  river.    See  Churchill  river 
Mississippi  river,   184  ;    source  of, 


576      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Ixxvi,  170,  266—72,  287-8;  head- 
waters   of,   xliv,  Ix,  Ixxv,  Ixxvi, 
177 
Missoula,  site  of,  xcvn 

river.     See  Clark's  Fork  river 

Missouri  river,  xliv,  Ixxiv,  Ixxv,  184, 

187,  223,  238,  553 
Mitchell,  map  of,  176,  272 
Montana,  state  of,  xlix,  li,  Ixxxvii, 

xciv 
Montreal,  xxxi,  lii,  liii,  Ivi,  Ixii,  177, 

560 

river,  294 

Moose.     See  A  Ices  atnericanus 

Creek,  Ixxviii 

Factory,  8,  147 

river,  8,  146,  147 

Morass  Brook,  287 
Morrin,  Francois,  xlviii 
Morse.     See  Odobcsnus  rosmarus 
Mosquito,  24-6,  29,  559 

Creek,  xcv 

Mossy  river,  Ixxii 
Mount  Hood,  493 

Nelson,  Ixxxvii,  403,  428,  453, 

554 
Mountain  a  la  Bosse,  206 

Lion.      See   Felts   oregonensis 

hippolestes 

Portage,  xcii,  405,  556.     See 

also  Boat  Encampment 

Sheep.      See   Ovis   canadensis 

and  Ovis  c.  californiana 

Mouse.  See  Peromyscus  manicu- 
latus  borealis  and  Microtus  penn- 
sylvanicus  drummondi 

river.     See  Souris  river 

Mousseau,  xci,  xcii,  385,  536 
Moxostoma  lesueuri,   60.    112,    181, 

305 
Moyie  lakes,  392 
river,    Ixxxvii-lxxxviii,     389, 

391-2 
Munck,  Jens,  128 
Murphy  Creek,  xcv 
Murray,  Alexander,  Ixxiii 
Musk  Ox.     See  Ovibos  moschatus 
Muskrat.    See  Fiber  zibeihicus,  Fiber 

z.    cinnamominus,    and    Fiber   z. 

osoyoosensis 

country,  xxxiii,  xxxiv,  xxxvi, 

xxxix,    xl,    xlvii,   Ixxxiv,   Ixxxv, 
55-77.  108,  109 

Musquawegan,  xlvii,  xlviii,  Ixxxiv, 

Ixxxv,  78,  97 
Mustela  cicognani,  69 


Nahathaway    Indians.      See   Cree 

Indians 
Namew  lake.     See  Sturgeon  lake 
Nelson  House,  xlvii-xlviii,  Ixxxiv, 

28 


nver,   xxxm,   xxxvi,   xxxvui, 

xxxix,  xl,  Ixvi,  Ixvii,  Ixx,   8,   9, 

31.  33.  34.  55.  99.  117.  43^ 

Nelson's  Rivulet.     See  Toby  Creek 

Nemissoolatakoo  river.  See  Clark's 
Fork  river 

Nepoin,  trading  post  at  the,  Ixix 

Nettion  carolinense,  414 

New  Caledonia,  xlix 

Nipigon  river,  291 

Nipissing  Indians,  204,  205,  311, 
312,  457 

Niverville,  Ixxv 

North  Saskatchewan  river,  xxix, 
Ixxviii,  Ixxxi 

North-West  Company,  xxix,  xxxiii, 
xxxiv,  xxxix,  xliii,  xUv,  1— lii, 
Ixviii,  Ixxxii,  Ixxxiv  ;  history  of, 
106 ;  Thompson  enters,  Ixxi, 
169  ;  unites  with  X  Y  Company, 
xlix,  Ixxxv  ;  unites  with  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  Ixiii,  106  ; 
policy  of,  170— I 

Nottingham  House,  Ixxxiv,  172 

Numenius  borealis,  8 

hudsonicus,  8 

Nut  hiUs.  185 

Tree.     See  Hicoria 

Nyctea  nyctea,  63 

Oak.     See  Quercus 
OdobcBnus  rosmarus,  19 
Odocoileus,  185,  189,  475 

columbianus,  487 

hemionus,  231,  368,  376,  460, 

479.  543 

virginianus  borealis,  286 

leucurus,  487,  512 

macrourus,  312 


Ogden,  Peter  Skene,  379,  386,  496 
Ojibway    Indians.      See    Chippewa 

Indians 
Okanagan  lake,  555 

river,  466,  480 

Okanogan  Dalles,  477 
Okinagan  Indians,  329,  465,  532 
Olor  buccinator,  64,  284,  398,  456 

columbianus,  64,  402 

Oman,  Mitchell,  53,  320 
Oncorhynchos  nerka,  377 
Ontonoggan  river,  291,  295 


INDEX 


577 


Oreamnos  montanus,  376,  484 
Oregon,  state  of,  xlix 

Treaty  of,  177 

Orkney  Islands,  134 
Osage  Indians,  191 
Osoyoos  lake,  555 
Ottawa  river,  liv,  xcviii,  560 
Otter.     See  Lutra  canadensis 

Sea.     See  Latax  lutris 

Ovibos  moschatus,  141 

Ovis  canadensis,  Ixxxi,  376,  397,  538 

calif orniana,  482,  484 

cervina,  Ixxxi 

Montana,  Ixxxi 


Owl.     See  Nyctea  nyctea  and  Bubo 

virginianus  subarcticus 
Oxford  lake.     See  Holy  lake 
Oxycoccus  oxycoccus,  58 

macrocarpus,  283 

Ozark  Hills,  183 

Pacific  Fur  Company,  lii,  xciv,  464, 
480,  501,  542 

ocean,  502 

Pack  river,  409,  412,  429 
Packet  Indians,  30-1 
Paddy,  135,  151 
Paint  lake.     See  McKay's  lake 

river,  137 

Palouse  river,  529 
Pangman,  Peter,  xxix,  106 
Paquin,  L.,  536 

Pareil.  Pierre,  443,  449,  453,  459, 

472 
Parenteau,  406 
Partridge  Crop  lake,  193 
Pas,  The,  55 
Pawnee  Indians,  195 
Peace  river,  xxxiv,  xlvi-xlvii,  xlix, 

184,  189,  508 

River  Forks,  Ixi,  310-11.     See 

also  Peace  River  Landing 

Landing,  Ixxxii,  Ixxxiii. 


See  also  Peace  River  Forks 
Pedioecetes  phasianellus,  48 
Peeagans.     See  Piegan  Indians 
Pelecanus  eryihrorhynchos,  269 
Pelican.    See  Pelecanus  eryihrorhyn- 
chos 
Pembina       (Summerberry)       river, 
Ixxv,  Ixxviii,  250,  442 

site  of,  Ixxv 

Pembok,  431 
Pemican,  59,  434-5 
Pend   d'Oreille  lake,  xc,   xci,  xcii, 
xciv,  xcvi,  379,  410,  412,  555 


Pend  d'Oreille  river,  xciv,  xcvi, 
412-14,  427,  541,  555 

Penthestes  hudsonicus,  48 

Perca  flavescens,  61 

Perch.     See  Perca  flavescens 

Perisoreus  canadensis,  48 

Peromyscus  maniculatus  borealis,  68 

Perrault,  Francois,  209 

Phalacrocorax  auritus,  68,  269,  459 

Pheasant.  See  Pedioecetes  phasi- 
anellus 

Phloeotomus  pileatus  picinus,  400 

Phoca  hispida,  17 

richardi,  497 

vitulina,  17 

Phoccena  phoccsiza,  23 
Pica  pica  hudsonia,  400 
Picea  canadensis,  58,  186,  294 
Pichette,  442 

Pickerel.    See  Stizostedion  vitreum 

Piegan  Indians,  xl,  li,  Ixv,  Ixxx, 
xcii,  54,  131,  236,  314,  324, 
325,  327,  328-30,  345-71,  375, 
379-84.  389,  412,  419,  423-5. 
430.  465.  530.  541.  543,  546-52, 
553 

Pigeon.    See  Ectopistes  migratorius 

— • —  river,  169,  178 

Pike.     See  Esox  lucius 

Lieutenant,  177 

Pikenows.     See  Piegan  Indians 
Pine,  Banksian.     See  Pinus  divari- 

caia 

Fort.     See  Fort  Epinette 

Island  lake,  xxxi,  Ixv 

Pinus  divaricata,  58,  115,  185 
Pipe  lake,  Ixvii 

Pisquosh  Indians,  482-4 

Plane,     False.     See    Acer    pseudo- 

platanus 
Plante,  Joseph,  xlviii 
Playgreen  lake,  Ixv 
Plectrophenax  nivalis,  48 
Point  Vancouver,  500 
Pond,    Peter,    xxix,    xxxiii,     Ixxii, 

Ixxxiii-lxxxiv,  28, 106, 171, 175-6; 

cited,  244 
Poonokow,  353-4 
Poplar.      See    Populus   balsamifera 

and  P.  tremuloides 

House,  Ixxv,  245 

Populus  balsamifera,  57,  115,  185 

tremuloides,  56-7,  115,  185 

Porcupine.     See  Erethizon  dorsatum 

HiUs,  290,  293,  294 

river,  143 

2   O 


578     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Porpoise.    See  Phoccena  phocanes 
Portage  Lake  Canal,  296 

la  Prairie.  See  Meadow  Por- 
tage 

Porter,  "  Canadian  trader,"  Ixix 

Prairie  Portage.  See  Meadow  Por- 
tage 

Priest  Rapids,  485 

Prime  (North-West  Company  en- 
gage), Ixxvii 

Prince  (the  captain  of  the  sloop  at 
Churchill),  26 

Albert,  site  of,  xxx 

Prince  Rupert,  xxvi,  3 

Procyon  lotor,  250 

Prudens,  J.  P.,  1,  432 

Prunus  pennsylvanica ,  58 

virginiana,  58 

Ptarmigan.    See  Lagopus  albus  and 

L.  rupestris 
Pukkatowagan  (Setting)  lake,  xlviii 
Puma.     See  Felis  oregonensis  hip- 

polestes 
Pye  island,  289,  290,  291 

Quamasia  quamash,  413,  474 
Qu'  Appelle  river,  Ixxiv 
Quercus  garryana,  504 

macrocarpa,  185,  21 1 

Quesnel,  Jules,  xlix 

Raccoon.     See  Procyon  lotor 
Rainy  lake,  Ixxi,  Ixxxviii,  55,  179, 

436  .      ,        . 

Lake    House,  Ixxvu,   Ixxxix, 

xcii,  179,  436,  542 

river,  3div,  Ixvi,   xcviii,    179, 

258,  263,  436 

River  House.  263,  396,  406 

Rana  cantabrigensis  latiremis,  38 
Rangifer  arcticus,  19 

montanus,  539 

sylvestris,  76 

Rapid  Indians,  304.  See  also  under 
Fall  Indians 

river,  Ixxvii 

Raspberry.    See  Rubus  chamesmorus 

and  R.  strigosus 
Rat.     See  Epimys  norvegicus 

Creek,  Ixxv 

Portage,  Ixxvii 

Rattlesnake.     See   Crotalus  conflu- 

entus  lucifer 

Raven.  See  Corvus  corax  princi- 
palis 

Red  Cedar  lake,  Ixxvi,  274,  279 


Red  Deer  Brook,  Ixxviii 

lake.     See     La     Biche, 

Lake 


river,  xlvi,  Ixxiii,  Lxxiv, 
Ixxx,  xcviii,  196,  312,  336 

—  lake,  Ixxii,  266,  267-8 

—  Lake  Falls,  site  of,  Ixxvi,  251 
river,  Ixxv,   Ixxvi,    251, 


267 

Paint  lake.    See  McKay's  lake 

river,  Ixiv,  Lxxv,  Ixxxix,    182, 

224,  245,  249-51,  436 
Reed  lake,  xxxix,  xlviii,  Ixx,  Ixxi, 

Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv,  78,  107,  120,  133, 

302 

Lake  House,  Ixx,  108 

river,  250 

Reindeer.    See  Rangifer  arcticus,  R. 
montanus,  and  R.  sylvestris 

lake,  xxxvii,  xxxix,  xli,  xliii, 

xlviii,  Ixvii,  Ixxi,  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv, 
78,  134,  136,  137,  140-1,  153, 
252,  302 

river,  xlviii,  Ixx,  Ixxi,  Ixxxv, 


133.  136.  153 
Revelstoke,  site  of,  liii,  533 
Ribes  hudsonianum,  58 

oxyacanthoides,  58 

rubrum,  58 

Rice,  Wild.     See  Zizania  aquatica 

Richardson,  Sir  John,  174-5 

Ricky  Rapids,  473 

Roberts,  Henry,  cited,  146 

Robinson,  Alfred,  xxvii 

Rock  Island  Rapids,  482 

Rocky  Mountain  House  (i),  xxix, 
xlvi,  xlix,  1,  Ixi,  Lxxix, 
Ixxx,  Ixxxi,  Ixxxii,  Ixxxvi, 
Ixxxix,  88,  188,  190,  368,  375 

(2),  Ixxxiii 

Mountains,      xlvi,     1,     Lxxxi, 

375.  379.   402-3,  538  ;    sketches 
of,  Ivi,  554 

Rook.     See  Corvus  brachyrhynchos 

Rosa  acicularis,  58 

Ross,    Alexander,    481,    485,    501, 

511  ;   cited,  510,  526 
— —  John,  171,  175 

Malcolm,     xxviii,    xxxiv-xlii, 

Ixix,  Ixx,  Ixxi,  133,  134,  147,  153, 

159 
Routledge,  site  of,  207 
Rowand,  432 

Roy,  "  Canadian  trader,"  Ixxvii 
Roy's  House,  lxxv,  251 
Rubits  arcticus,  58 


INDEX 


579 


Ritbus  chamesmorus,  58 

stvigosus,  58 

Rupert's  river,  8 

St.  Francis,  Lake,  liv 

St.  James's  Park,  5 

St.  Lawrence  river,  liv 

St.  Louis  river,  Ixxvii,  272,  283,  284- 

6,  291 
St.  Martin  lake,  193 
St.  Mary's  river,  Ixxxvii,  394 
St.  Peter,  Lake,  liv 
Sakatow,  346,  383 
Sakkamappi.     See  Saukamappee 
Saleesh   House    (i),    liii,    ba,    xci, 

xcii,  xciv,  xcvi,  xcvii,  379,  418, 

460.  533.  539,  541 
(2).        See      Kullyspell 

House 

lake.     See  Flathead  lake 

river.     See  Clark's  Fork  river 


Salish    Indians,    xci,     xcvii,    328, 

367,  379,  409.  410,  417,  419.  420, 
422-5,  466,  485,   533,  542,  546- 

52 
Salmon.      See    Oncorhynchos   nerka 

and  Salvelinus  alpinus 
Salt  river,  Ixxv,  251 
Salvelinus  alpinus,  12 
Sand  Fly,  26 

lake.     See  Sandy  lake 

Lake   river,    Ixxvi,   276,   279, 

281 

Sandy  lake,  Ixxvi,  263-4,  278 

San  Poil  (Simpoil)  Indians,  473-7 

river,  474 

Sarsi  Indians,  304,  327,  367 

Sarvice  Berry  hill,  389 

Saskatchewan  river,  xxviii,  xxix, 
xxxii,  xxxiii,  xxxv,  xxxvi,  xxxviii, 
xxxix,  xlix,  1,  li,  Ixv,  Ixvii, 
Ixix,  Ixxvii,  Ixxix,  Ixxx,  Ixxxi, 
Ixxxii,  Ixxxvi,  Ixxxviii,  xc, 
xcii,  xciii,  xcviii,  55,  182,  184, 
312,  320-1,  397,  431,  433-4,  508  ; 
name  applied  to  Nelson  river 
above  Split  lake,  Ixvi 

Saskatoon  Berry.  See  Amelanchier 
alnifolia 

Saukamappee,     xxx,     54,     328-44, 

351-2 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  xliv,  Ixxvii,  xcviii, 

288,  291,  297,  298-9,  560 
Savannah  Brook,  Ixxvi 

Carrying  Place,  Ixxvi 

Sayer,  John,  Ixxvi,  274,  276 


Sciuropterus  sabrinus,  70 

Sciurus  hudsonicus,  70,  186 

Scotland,  4-7,  74 

Scott.  Mrs.  W.  R..  liv 

Seal.    See  Phoca  hispida,  P.  richardi, 

P.  vitulina,  and  Erignathus  bar- 

batus 

river,  xl,  8,  32 

Seepaywisk  House,  Ixvi 
Selkirk,  Lord,  177 

range,  the,  453 

Service    Berry.      See   Amelanchier 

alnifolia 
Severn,  the  sloop,  146 
Severn  Factory,  146 

river,  8,  loi 

Sextant,  used  by  Thompson,   104, 

149,  178 
Shahaptin     Indians,     465,    485-7, 

526 
Shaw,  Angus,  Ixviii,  Ixxviii,  321,432 

Mrs.,  xxiii,  Ixii 

Shawpatin  Indians.    See  Shahaptin 

Indians 

river.     See  Snake  river 

Sheep  river  (i),  Ixxxi 

(2),  Ixxxviii,  394 

Sheshepaskut,  253,  261,  267 
Shewap  river.    See  Shooswap  river 
Shoal  river,  Ixxiii 

Shooswap  river,  555 

Shoshonean    Indians.      See    Snake 

Indians 
Shuswap  Indians,  329 
Siksika  nation,  327 
Silver,  371 

Grove,  Ixix 

Simpoil     Indians.     See     San     Poil 

Indians 
Simpson,  Sir  George,  179,  389,  416, 

427 
Sinclair,  xxxix 

Sinkowarsin.    See  Pisquosh  Indians 
Sioux  Indians,  Ixxv,  178,  179,  212, 

214-15,  218,  221,  225,  229,  240- 

I,  253,  261,    263-4,  276,   322-3, 

326,  361 
Sipiwesk  lake,  xxxvi,  Ixvi,  78 
Sisipuk  lake,  Ixx 
Skaemena    Indians.      See    Sokulk 

Indians 
Skeetshoo  Indians,  410,   415,   531, 

533 

road,  xcvii,  541,  555 

Skirmish  Brook.     See  Wild  Horse 

Creek 


580      DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Slave  river,  557 

Small,    Charlotte,    wife    of    David 
Thompson,  xlv,  Iv 

Patrick,  xlv 

Smallpox,  epidemic  of,  xxviii,  xxxv, 

109,  215,  321-5,  336-7 
Smeathhowe,  village  of,  480-1 
Smoky  river,  Ixxxii,  i8g,  190 
Snake  Creek,  Ixxiii 
Indians,     131,    328-43,     367, 

370,  492 

river,  liii,  xciv,  489,  526,  527-8 

Snow  Bunting.     See  Plectrophenax 

nivalis 
Snow-bUndness,  52 
Sokulk  Indians,  487-8,  526 
Souris    (Mouse)    river,    xliv,   Ixxiv, 

Ixxv,  185,  210,  211,  218,  241 
South  Branch  House,  Ixvii,  Ixix 

Saskatchewan  river,  xlvi 

Spaniards,  attack  upon,  370-1 
Spence,  James,  134 
Spikanoggan,  316 
SpUlimacheen  river,  Ixxxix 
Spirit  lake,  541 

Spitchee  river,  Ixxx 

Split    lake,     xxxiii,     xxxvii,     Ixvi, 

117 
Spokane    House,    Ixi,    xciv,    xcvi, 

xcvii,  379,  461,  464-5,  527,  530, 

532,  540,  541,  542,  555 

Indians,  532,  533 

Rapids,  473 

river,  xcvi,  461,  530 

site  of,  xciv 

Spruce.     See  Picea  canadensis 
Squirrel.      See    Eutamias    horealis, 

Sciuropterus  sabrinus,  and  Sciurus 

hudsonicus 
Stag  river.     See  Red  Deer  river 
Stizostedion  vitreum,  61,  181,  305 
Stone    Indian    river.      See    Assini- 

boine  river 

River       House.         See 

McDonnell's  House 

river.     See  Black  river 


Strawberry.      See    Fragaria    cana- 
densis 
Stromness,  harbour  of,  5 
Stuart,  Alexander,  523 

David,  480,  481,  501,  511-18 

John,  555 

Sturgeon.    See  A  cipenser  rubicundus 

lake,  Ixvii,  Ixix,  Ixxxiv,  117 

river,  Ixix,  Ixxviii 

Sturgeon-weir  river,  Ixxvii,  Ixxxv 


Sucker.     See  Catostomus  catostomus 

and  Moxostoma  lesueuri 
Summerberry.    See  Viburnum  opU' 

lus 

river.     See  Pembina  river 

Superior,    Lake,    xxxiv,    xUv,    Ivi, 

Ixxv,  Ixxvii,  Ixxxii,  xcviii,  55,  106, 

169,  283,  285,  287,  288-97,  559 
Suskwagemow  lake.     See  Sturgeon 

lake 
Sussee  Indians.    See  Sarsi  Indians 
Sutherland,  George,  433 
Swain,  Thomas,  Ixxiii 
Swampy  lake,  Ixvi 
Swan.     See  Olor  buccinator  and  O. 

columbianus 

lake,  Ixxiii 

river,  xliv,  Ixxiii,  177, 185, 194, 

279.  436 
River  House,  Ixxiii,  194 

Tapahpahtum,  122-5 

Tate,  Magnus,  xxix,  xxxix 

Taxidea  taxus,  208 

Tearing  river,  Ixix 

Telescope,  used  by  Thompson,  104, 

178 
Ten  Mile  Rapids,  495 
Tennant,  Robert,  74 
Terre  Blanche  House,  439 
Terrebonne,  liii-liv,  xcviii 
Thalarctos    maritimus,    14-16,    23, 

32-3,  41,  42-3 
Thermometer,  used  by  Thompson, 

108, 154 
Thicket  Portage,  Ixvii 
Thomas  (Iroquois  guide),  441,  442, 

443.  448.  451 

Dr.,  xlii 

Thompson,  Ann,  xxiii 

Charlotte,  Iv 

David,  the  elder,  xxiii 

— —  the  younger  :   his  birth, 

xxiii ;  enters  service  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  xxiv-xxv, 
3  ;  leaves  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany and  enters  service  of  North- 
West  Company,  xli,  Ixxi,  169  ; 
discovers  head-waters  of  Missis- 
sippi, Ixxvi,  271  ;  crosses  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  1,  Ixxxvi, 
375  ;  reaches  Fort  Astoria,  lii, 
xciv,  501  ;  leaves  western  Canada, 
liii,  xcviii,  559—60  ;  becomes  im- 
poverished, Iv-lvi ;  his  death, 
Ivi  ;     his    appearance,    Ivi  ;     his 


INDEX 


581 


education,  xxiv-xxvi,  5  ;  his  ser- 
vices to  geography,  Iviii-bd  ;  his 
map  of  the  North- West,  Uv,  Ixiv ; 
his  attitude  toward  the  hquor 
trafl&c,  Ivii ;  called  Koo-koo-sint, 
526 
Thompson,  Ehza,  Iv 

EUzabeth,  Iv 

Emma,  Iv 

Fanny,  Iv 

George,  Iv 

Henry,  Iv 

John  (i),  Iv 

(2),  xxiii 

Joshua,  Iv 

Mary,  Iv 

Rapids.     See  Ricky  Rapids 

Robert,  xxxviii,  xxxix,  Ixx 

Samuel,  Iv 

Thomas,  Iv 

Wilham,  Iv 

Thompson's  Falls,  459 

Prairie,  xci,  541,  555 

Thorbum,  Wilham,  206 
Thorbum's  House,  Ixxiv,  206 
Three  Point  lake,  Ixx,  Ixxi 

Thuja  occidentalis,  58,  278,  295,  435 

plicata,  387 

Thunder  Bay,  289,  290 

Point,  290 

Tilia  americana,  221 
Tobacco  river,  Ixxxvii 
Tobin  Rapids,  Ixix 
Toby  Creek,  376 

Tomison,  William,  xxviii,  xxix, 
XXX,  XXXV,  xxxviii,  xxxix,  Ixix, 
54,  56,  319 

Tomtit.     See  Penthestes  hudsonicus 

Tongue  Flag  Creek,  Ixxx 

Point,  500-1 

Tonquin,  the,  505 

Torrent  river.     See  St.  Mary's  river 

Touchwood  Hills,  185 

Trade  Portage.     See  Frog  Portage 

Trail,  site  of,  xciv-xcv 

Traps,  49-50 

Trout.     See  Crisiivomer  namaycush 

river,  Ixvi,  143 

Turner,  Phihp,  Ixxxix 
Tumor,  John,  147 

Philip,    xxxti,    xxxiii,    xxxvi, 

xxxix,   Ixix,   Ixxviii,   Ixxxiii,  28, 
54.  134.  146-8,  172,  319 

Turtle  Brook,  Ixxvi,  212,  273 

Hill,  Ixxiv,  185,  212,  214-15, 

217,  218,  241 


Turtle  lake,  Ixxvi,  269,  272,  279 

Rapids,  473 

River  House,  Ixxix 

Tzan-deze     river.       See     Churchill 


Ugly   Head,    Lake    Indian    chief, 

390-1 
Ulmus  americana,  211 
Umatilla  Rapids,  521 
Umfreville,    Edward,    xxvii,    xxix, 

Ixxix,  321 
United    States,    war    declared    by, 

559  ;      boundary     line     between 

Canada  and,  xliv,  liv,  Ixxv,  170, 

176-7,  249,  271,  288 
Upper  Columbia  lake,  xciv,  404,  503 

Fort  des  Prairies,  xlv 

House    on    Red    Deer    river, 

Ixxiv,  196 
Ursus  americanus,  68,  113,  253,  312 

horribilis,  185,  312,  313,  340, 

538 

Vaccinium  vitisidcBa,  58 
Vallade,  Rene,  443,  449 
Valley  river,  Ixxii-lxxiii 
Vandril,  209 
Vaudette,  443,  536 
Vauxhall,  5 
Vermihon  Falls,  Ixxxiii 

river,  xlvi 

Victoria,  site  of,  xcii 
Viburnum  opulus,  59 
Villard,  site  of,  220 
Villiard,  443,  453 
Vivier,  209 

Voltaire,  dictionary  of,  1 1 
Vulpes  fulva,  120 

regalis,  208 

Wadin,  171,  175 

Wahbino  medicine,  the,  255-9 

Wales,  William,  9,  36 

WaUa  Walla  Indians,  490 

Walrus.     See  Odobcsnus  rosmarus 

Wapiti.     See  Cervus  canadensis 

Wappiscoggamy  House.  See  Bruns- 
wick House 

Washi  lake,  147 

Washington,  state  of,  xhx,  Iviii 

Waterhen  river,  194 

Wawthlarlar  Indians,  498 

Webster,  Daniel,  176-7 

Weepiskow  river.  See  Burntwood 
river 


582     DAVID   THOMPSON'S   NARRATIVE 


Weesaukejauk,     85-8,     115,     203, 

204 
Wenatchee  Indians.     See  Pisquosh 

Indians 

Mountains,  482 

river,  481 

Wentzel,  Ixxxiii 
Westminster  Abbey,  5 
Whale.    See  Balcena  mysticetus 
Whalebone,  20 
Whip-poor-wiU,  61 
Whirlpool  river,  Ixxxvi 
Whiskyjack.     See  Perisoreus  cana- 
densis 

White,  a  "  Canadian  trader,"  Ixvii 

Earth  House,  xcii 

river,  xcii 

Fish.     See  Coregonus 

Man,  Indian  chief,  239 

Mud  House,  Ixxix,  430,  439 

Whale.      See    Delphinapterus 

catodon 

Wild  Horse  Creek,  Ixxxviii,  394 

Rice  river,  266 

Wilkes,  Commander  Charles,  505 
Willamette  river,  493 
William  Creek,  Ixxx 
WiUiamstown,  liv 
Willow  Indians,  224,  314 
Wills,  John,  xlviii,  188 
Windermere,  Lake,  Ixxxvii,  376,  402 
Winnibigoshish  lake,  Ixxvi,  277 
Winnipeg  House,  Ixxvii,  181,  193 

Lake,   xxxiv,  xliv,   Ixv,   Ixix, 

Ixxi,  Ixxii,  Ixxvii,  Ixxxix,  xcviii, 
36,  55,  106,  180-3,  193.  435-6 


Winnipeg  river,  xliv,   Ixxi,    Ixxvii, 

xcviii,  36,  180,  436 

site  of,  Ixxv 

Winnipegosis,  Lake,  xliv,  bcxii,  194 
Wintering  lake,  Ixvi,  Ixvii 
Wishram,  village  of,  518 
Wiskahoo,  125 
Wolf.     See   Canis   occidentalis   and 

C.  nubilus 

Creek,  xlvi,  xc 

Wolf's  trail,  the,  xlvi 
Wollaston  lake,  xl,  Ixxi,  138,  142 
Wolverine.     See  Gulo  luscus 
Wood  (Flatheart)  river,  xciii,  449, 

451 
Woodlin,  site  of,  xci 
Woodpecker.    See  Phloeotomus  pile- 

atus  picinus 
Wuskwatim  lake,  Lxvii 

X  Y  Company,  xlvii,  xlix,  Ixxxii, 
Ixxxv,  106 

Yakima  Indians.  See  Skaemena 
Indians 

Yellepit,  490 

Yellow  Banks,  xxx,  Ixix 

Yellowhead  Pass,  xciii 

Yellowstone  river,  553 

York  Factory,  xxvi,  xxviii,  xxxii, 
xxxiii,  xxxiv,  xxxv.  xxxvi,  xxxvii, 
xxxviii,  xl,  xlii,  xlvii,  Ixi,  Ixv, 
Ixvi,  lxvii,  Ixviii,  Ixx,  8,  30,  34, 
38-53.  54.  56,  99.  134.  147.  186 

Zizania  aquatica,  269,  270,  274-5 


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